BELEN, N.M. (AP) – A 16-year-old boy has been arrested in connection with the deaths of four family members in rural New Mexico, authorities said Sunday.
State Police said the victims were found shot to death in their Valencia County home early Saturday morning.
The boy’s name was withheld on Sunday by The Associated Press because he is a minor.
Police spokesman, Mr. Ray Wilson, said the suspect was heavily intoxicated at the scene and was taken to hospital to be detoxified.
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The teenager will be placed in a juvenile detention center on four open murder charges after being released from the hospital, according to Wilson, who said the medical examiner’s office is still trying to identify the victims.
Officials said the boy called 911 around 3:30 a.m. Saturday and allegedly told the dispatcher that he had killed his entire family.
When the district deputies arrived at the scene, they say the prisoner left the house with his hands in the air and surrendered without incident.
Deputies said they found four dead people inside the home and a gun on the kitchen table.
Wilson said the county sheriff’s office has turned the case over to the State Police for investigation into the murder of four people.