Police: Alabama teen confesses to killing five family members

A 14-year-old Alabama boy has confessed to shooting and killing five family members in their home in North Alabama, the Limestone County Sheriff’s Office said early Tuesday morning.

The sheriff’s office said they responded to a shooting Monday night at about 10:30 p.m. on Ridge Road in Elkmont, Alabama, a small town of less than 500 northwest of Huntsville, where three victims were confirmed dead at the scene and two were airlifted to a hospital where they later died.

The sheriff’s office responded to the scene after receiving a call from the home, which they said came from the boy who later confessed to shooting his family and throwing away the pistol before calling police.

UPDATE: The two subjects in critical condition have died. The 14-year old caller was interviewed and confessed to shooting all five members of his family in the residence. He is currently assisting investigators in locating the weapon, a 9mm handgun that he said he tossed nearby.

— Limestone Sheriff (@LimestoneCoSO) September 3, 2019

The shooter is now cooperating with police.

“He is currently assisting investigators in locating the weapon, a 9mm handgun that he said he tossed nearby,” the sheriff’s office said on Twitter.

It isn’t clear where the teenager obtained the gun or whether it was a family weapon. The shooting is the latest high-profile shooting in the U.S. after seven people were shot and killed in Texas on Saturday.

Local ABC affiliate WAFF reported that the shooter originally called and said he was downstairs when he heard shooting upstairs. When deputies arrived, they found one adult and two children dead, and one adult and another child were rushed to hospitals in Huntsville and Birmingham with critical injuries. The victims, officials told WAFF, were the shooter’s father, stepmother and siblings.