Updated October 25, 2024 at 04:11 AM ET
A teenager accused of shooting and killing his parents and three siblings in a home near Seattle earlier this week has been charged with murder, authorities said in a court document released Thursday.
The 15-year-old boy has been charged with five counts of first degree, aggravated murder and one count of first degree attempted murder.
Law enforcement received 911 calls Monday morning about a “disturbance with gunfire at a residential house” in Fall City, Wash., Mike Mellis, a deputy with King County Sheriff’s Office, told reporters. When they arrived at the home, they took a 15-year-old male into custody and discovered five people—two adults and three teenagers — dead inside the house.
Another teenager was also found with injuries to “at least two parts of their body” and was taken to a nearby hospital, Mellis also said. It also appears the suspect as well as the deceased were all members of the same family, and their relationship is part of the investigation, the King County Sheriff’s Office told NPR.
“It does appear to be that this is a family incident. Clearly, a domestic violence incident that involves not only a young man who’s now in significant trouble, it involves firearms. A young man and firearms,” Mellis said, adding it is unclear how many firearms were used or were inside the home.
“What had happened here this morning had essentially concluded before the 911 call was made or before deputies arrived,” Mellis said, adding that there was no confrontation with the teenager who was taken into custody.
Mellis said the teenager was booked into King County’s juvenile jail on Monday, and family members were notified about the incident. He added that the home was not considered a “problem house” where multiple calls for police were made and police haven’t been at the house for “any significant reason for years.”
The teenager’s first court appearance was Tuesday afternoon, and a case has not yet been referred to the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office for a formal charging decision.
The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office said in a statement they asked the court to find probable cause for five counts of first-degree murder and one count of first-degree attempted murder.
A 15-year-old cannot go to prison for life without parole.
The teenager has been ordered to be held in secure detention and to not have contact with the injured teen, who remains in the hospital.
When asked for comment from the teenager's attorneys, the King County Department of Public Defense referred NPR to the defense attorneys' statement in court:
"We want the court to know that our client is a 15-year-old boy who enjoys mountain biking and fishing and has no criminal history," defense attorneys Molly Campera and Amy Parker said. "Again, the law says our client is presumed innocent of these charges, and we are grateful for a judicial process that requires proof and evidence before there is a judgment."
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