Authorities say a boy in West Virginia has been charged with the murder of two boys and their parents inside their home.
At 10:40 a.m. Sunday, an unidentified man, woman and two sons, aged 3 and 12, were found dead with gunshot wounds in a house in Elquio, WV Metro News reported.
Authorities said a relative went home in the morning to check on the relative because he had not asked the family for several days.
When he arrived, the front door was opened and he found three people dead, the news agency WSAZ reported.
The store reported that the responding officers found a fourth victim.
“We immediately determined the arrival of the delegates that they were all dead,” Dream County Sheriff Mike Rutherford told WV Metro News.
Rutherford said a fifth member of the family – a teenage boy – was found safely at the scene of the crime. He has spoken to authorities.
A girl has been charged with murder in connection with the gruesome murder, although it is unclear if the child had any connection with the victims.
Rutherford declined to release further information because the suspect was a minor.
No further details were provided on the circumstances surrounding the victims or their deaths.
“We are now in the process of collecting residences. It is very, very early now,” Rutherford told reporters.