Sheriff: 14-year-old confesses to killing 5 family members in Alabama home

ELKMONT, Ala. - A 14-year-old boy confessed to shooting all five members of his family at a residence in Alabama, authorities said Tuesday.

The teen was “assisting investigators in locating the weapon, a 9mm handgun that he said he tossed nearby,” according to the Limestone County Sheriff’s Office.

Authorities were called early Tuesday morning to a report of five people shot at a home in Elkmont, located about 30 miles northwest of Huntsville. Three people were confirmed dead at the scene and two were airlifted to a hospital in critical condition, the sheriff’s office said.

Generic police tape is shown in a file image. (Photo credit: Andrew Francis Wallace/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

Authorities later confirmed the two people taken to the hospital died.

The sheriff’s office said the teen called police, and he allegedly admitted to the shooting during an interview.

“The 14-year old caller was interviewed and confessed to shooting all five members of his family in the residence,” the sheriff’s office said on Twitter.

The victims' identities were not immediately released.

This story was reported from Cincinnati.