A 14-year-old boy has confessed to killing all 5 members of his family. The shootings occurred about 10:30 p.m. Monday in the tiny town of Elkmont, Alabama.
Police responding to the small one-story home found 3 people deceased and two others suffering from gunshot wounds. An adult and 2 minors were dead at the scene. Another adult and a minor were airlifted to a hospital, where they later died.
The boy initially told a dispatcher he heard gunshots upstairs. He later confessed to shooting his father, stepmother, and three siblings.
The teenager called 911, saying he was in the basement and heard gunshots upstairs, according to WHNT-TV. The teen’s grandmother said that she recently lived in the family’s basement,” but she moved out of the home. She said the deceased were her only family in the area.
Family members of the stepmother were distraught at the scene, according to the television station.
The sheriff said the boy was assisting in the search of the 9mm handgun that he threw away after the shooting.
The boy is being held in a juvenile detention center in Elkmont, a town with a population of 500 residents, about a 45 minute drive northwest of Huntsville, Alabama.
The sheriff said it is unclear if the boy will be charged as an adult.
