Sheriff, 14-year-old confessed: shot and killed his family

ELKMONT, Ala. (AP) — A teenager who called 911 about hearing gunshots has admitted to killing five members of his family, Alabama authorities said Tuesday.

Deputies responding to the home in Elkmont early Tuesday morning found one adult and two minors dead at the scene. Another adult and minor were hospitalized with critical injuries and later died.

The Limestone County Sheriff’s office said a 14-year-old confessed to the killings. Sheriff Mike Blakely told WAFF that the victims were the teen’s father, stepmother and siblings.

Limestone County Sheriff’s spokesman Stephen Young said the 14-year-old initially told a dispatcher he was downstairs when he heard gunshots on the home’s upper floor.

The sheriff’s office later said in a statement that investigators have found the handgun they believe was used. They said the weapon had been tossed along the roadside near the crime scene, authorities said.

It wasn’t known early Tuesday what might have motivated the crime.

Elkmont is a small town northwest of Huntsville, near the Alabama-Tennessee line.

“Please be in prayer for our school and community. We will have extra counselors at school today,” Elkmont High School posted on Twitter Tuesday morning.

Young told WHNT that the 14-year-old attended Elkmont High School.

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Information from: WAFF-TV, http://www.waff.com/