The 8-year-old Oregon girl who survived a gruesome attack when her mother's boyfriend killed four people in a home on Saturday before being shot dead by arriving officers had one message for police: thank you.
Hailey Grimm shared horrifying details of the moments when 42-year-old Mark Leo Gregory Gago had his hands on her neck after killing his parents, her mother and her infant sister at the rural home near Woodburn, located about 30 miles south of Portland.
The 8-year-old told FOX12 that Gago was speaking in riddles while his hands were pressed on her throat when deputies ultimately found her.
MAN WHO MURDERED 4 IN OREGON HOME, TRYING TO KILL CHILD SHOT DEAD BY DEPUTIES, POLICE SAY
“Then when they came in my room. He yelled, ‘No!’” she told FOX12.
Officers then shot and killed Gago, according to the Clackamas County Sheriff Office.
“Police officers, if you’re watching this, thank you,” said Hailey.
The sheriff's office identified the victims as Olivia Gago, 9 months; Shaina Sweitzer, 31; Jerry Bremer, 66; and Pamela Bremer, 64. When police arrived at the scene they found a woman dead outside the home and Gago attacking Hailey Grimm, who was Sweitzer's daughter from a previous relationship.
The girl’s grandmother, Debi Barry, told the Oregonian that Gago approached Hailey with bloody hands carrying an ax before grabbing her hair and throwing her against a wall.
“She said she had a guardian angel,” she told the newspaper.
Sheriff's Office Sgt. Brian Jensen told reporters on Sunday that authorities were not sure what weapons were used in the killings, but the victims were not shot.
"I've been told that there were numerous weapons, swords, things of that nature in the residence," he said. "The investigators are trying to determine what exactly was used to kill each person."
The sheriff's office took an emergency call from a resident inside the home at about 10:15 p.m. Saturday. The caller described a violent and hectic scene, Jensen said. Arriving deputies found a "horrific" situation, he said.
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"I've talked to investigators, 20-year veterans, and they're saying this is a shocking scene," Jensen said.
A roommate, who has not been identified, also survived the attack. She suffered what deputies described as injuries that did not appear to be life-threatening. She was being treated at a hospital.
Hailey told FOX12 she misses her mom and sister Olivia, but that she is going to be OK.
"I think I’m strong because of my mommy as an angel in heaven. I think she’s gonna be my angel, she said.
Gago had been arrested in August on a weapons charge. Jensen told the Associated Press that Gago was booked on a charge of unlawful possession of a weapon. He did not have details on the circumstances of the arrest or disposition of the case.
Fox News' Katherine Lam and The Associated Press contributed to this report.