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Four people died Tuesday after being attacked by a knife-wielding assailant at a home in downtown Sitka, police said.

A fifth victim was taken to a local hospital and listed in serious condition as of Tuesday evening, Sitka Police Chief Sheldon Schmitt said.

"It's an incident like we've never had in Sitka and it's a tragedy on top of it," he said.

Police responded to a 911 call from outside a house on Monastery Street and arrested Jason Abbott, 18, at the scene. Police said they had to use a Taser to subdue Abbott when he resisted arrest. At press time, no charges had been filed against him.

Three of the victims were pronounced dead shortly after police arrived at the downtown residence. Two more victims were taken to the Mount Edgecumbe Hospital, where one died several hours later, Schmitt said.

The victims included the suspect's grandparents, John and Alice Abbott, and his aunt, Elizabeth Abbott, according to Sitka residents and a family member.

"We will identify the bodies whenever we can," Sitka Police Lt. Barry Allen said. "Everything is very active right now."

Police cordoned off the crime scene in the quiet residential neighborhood in central Sitka, and called the state crime lab in Anchorage to help investigate the deaths.

"We don't know what happened at this time," Schmitt said.

Police received a 911 call from a cell phone at 11:44 a.m., the chief said. The caller said he was outside the Monastery Street home and told the dispatcher there was a "guy outside stabbing people." The dispatcher said she could hear people screaming in the background.

Two officers arrived soon afterward and found Jason Abbott holding a knife with a five-inch blade, Allen said. Police used a Taser to subdue him, and Abbott suffered a cut over one eye when he fell on the knife.

Emergency personnel responding to the call found five victims with injuries. Shortly upon arrival, they pronounced three of the victims dead at the scene.

The house where the attack took place is within three blocks of the Sitka police station and the fire station where EMS headquarters are located.

Sitka police said Abbott had been arrested Sunday on a domestic violence charge of fourth-degree assault, a misdemeanor. That alleged offense occured at another location in the Indian River Subdivision.

According to state records, Abbott has been arrested multiple times on charges of underage drinking.

Schmitt said he is unaware of any crimes of similar magnitude in Sitka in recent memory. The last homicide reported in Sitka was on May 4, 1996, when 17-year-old Jessica Baggen was raped and murdered in Totem Park near Sawmill Creek Road, Schmitt said. That case has never been solved.