KING COUNTY, Wash. (TCN) — A teenager was taken into custody after two adults and three juveniles were found dead in a home on Monday in what investigators classified as a domestic violence situation.
In a press conference, King County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Mike Mellis spoke at a press conference Monday, Oct. 21, and said several 911 calls came in at around 5 a.m. regarding a potential shooting at a home on the 7700 block of Lake Alice Road. A neighbor with medical experience reportedly assisted an injured teenage victim until deputies and other first responders arrived at the “chaotic” scene. Deputies immediately took a male teen into custody and transported the injured victim to a Seattle hospital.
Deputies entered the home and found five people deceased. Mellis called it a “hugely significant crime scene.”
Mellis did not specify the names or relationships of the victims but said the juvenile victims were “young teenagers.” The suspect and injured teen live in the same house, but it was not clear if they are siblings. Mellis said the suspect has been booked into a juvenile detention center and did not have any prior criminal history.
Detectives obtained a search warrant for the home and will likely get additional ones to look through social media and other technology.
KOMO-TV reports prosecutors are seeking probable cause for five counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. He will remain in secure detention and is not allowed to speak with “surviving family members of the immediate family.” It was not known yet if he would be charged as an adult or in juvenile court.
The suspect’s defense team told NPR in a statement, “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. 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.”