Albuquerque Shooting: Teenager Kills 5 People, Including 3 Children
By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN 01/20/13 08:30 PM ET EST
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A 15-year-old boy remained in custody Sunday night as detectives tried to piece together what led to the shooting of five people, including three young children, who were found dead in a New Mexico home.
The teenager was arrested on murder and other charges in connection with the shootings, which happened Saturday night at the home in a rural area southwest of downtown Albuquerque, said Lt. Sid Covington, a Bernalillo County sheriff's spokesman.
Detectives did not immediately release the victims' names, but word of the shootings traveled quickly through the law enforcement community, and officials began offering their condolences for Greg Griego, a spiritual leader known for his work with firefighters and the 13 years he spent as a volunteer chaplain at the county jail.
"Chaplin Griego was a dedicated professional that passionately served his fellow man and the firefighters of this community," Fire Chief James Breen said in a statement. "His calming spirit and gentle nature will be greatly missed."
Jail Chief Ramon Rustin said Griego was instrumental in the creation of the Metropolitan Detention Center's chaplain program and worked to get inmates integrated back into the community.
Griego also was a former member of the pastoral staff at Calvary, a Christian church in Albuquerque. As part of his work there, he oversaw the Straight Street program for jail inmates.
Covington said detectives were working to positively identify the five victims as well as the teenager's relationship to them.
"Right now we're to the meticulous points of processing the scene and collecting physical evidence, and this is a vast scene with a lot of physical evidence," Covington said.
Authorities said each victim suffered more than one gunshot wound, and several guns were found at the home, one of which was a semi-automatic military-style rifle. Investigators were trying to determine who owned the guns.
Authorities also declined to release details of any conversation that the 15-year-old had with investigators. The teenager was booked on two counts of murder and three counts of child abuse resulting in death.
The Associated Press is withholding the suspect's name during the initial investigation because he is a juvenile.
On Sunday, a police roadblock cut off public access to the narrow dirt road that leads to the home, which is surrounded by trees and an agricultural field on one side.
Neighbors said they saw the first police cars and ambulances arrive at the home Saturday night. The road was blocked and word of the shootings began to make its way through the neighborhood.
Peter Gomez, a 54-year-old carpenter who lives about 200 yards from the home, said he had seen the family – a husband and wife and their four children – pass by many times but didn't know them personally.
"It's a horrible thing," Gomez said. "You see all this stuff that happens all over the country, the shootings in the schools and theaters, and then it happens right here. It's sad."
SOURCE
DISCLAIMER: It doesn't say here if the shooter was related to the victims, but this story SEEMS to have all the hallmarks of a domestic situation wherein a family member goes amok and kills all the others, using guns that were available in the home. If I'm wrong about that, the above image may not apply here.
ETA: It appears my instincts were (sadly) correct, according to an updated story I just found: "A 15-year-old boy was arrested in Saturday's shooting deaths of his parents, a brother and two younger sisters. A .22-caliber rifle and a semi-automatic military-style rifle, which were kept in the parents' closet, were used in the shootings, according to authorities." D:
Source of updated information
(EDITED AGAIN to fix borked html.)
By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN 01/20/13 08:30 PM ET EST
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A 15-year-old boy remained in custody Sunday night as detectives tried to piece together what led to the shooting of five people, including three young children, who were found dead in a New Mexico home.
The teenager was arrested on murder and other charges in connection with the shootings, which happened Saturday night at the home in a rural area southwest of downtown Albuquerque, said Lt. Sid Covington, a Bernalillo County sheriff's spokesman.
Detectives did not immediately release the victims' names, but word of the shootings traveled quickly through the law enforcement community, and officials began offering their condolences for Greg Griego, a spiritual leader known for his work with firefighters and the 13 years he spent as a volunteer chaplain at the county jail.
"Chaplin Griego was a dedicated professional that passionately served his fellow man and the firefighters of this community," Fire Chief James Breen said in a statement. "His calming spirit and gentle nature will be greatly missed."
Jail Chief Ramon Rustin said Griego was instrumental in the creation of the Metropolitan Detention Center's chaplain program and worked to get inmates integrated back into the community.
Griego also was a former member of the pastoral staff at Calvary, a Christian church in Albuquerque. As part of his work there, he oversaw the Straight Street program for jail inmates.
Covington said detectives were working to positively identify the five victims as well as the teenager's relationship to them.
"Right now we're to the meticulous points of processing the scene and collecting physical evidence, and this is a vast scene with a lot of physical evidence," Covington said.
Authorities said each victim suffered more than one gunshot wound, and several guns were found at the home, one of which was a semi-automatic military-style rifle. Investigators were trying to determine who owned the guns.
Authorities also declined to release details of any conversation that the 15-year-old had with investigators. The teenager was booked on two counts of murder and three counts of child abuse resulting in death.
The Associated Press is withholding the suspect's name during the initial investigation because he is a juvenile.
On Sunday, a police roadblock cut off public access to the narrow dirt road that leads to the home, which is surrounded by trees and an agricultural field on one side.
Neighbors said they saw the first police cars and ambulances arrive at the home Saturday night. The road was blocked and word of the shootings began to make its way through the neighborhood.
Peter Gomez, a 54-year-old carpenter who lives about 200 yards from the home, said he had seen the family – a husband and wife and their four children – pass by many times but didn't know them personally.
"It's a horrible thing," Gomez said. "You see all this stuff that happens all over the country, the shootings in the schools and theaters, and then it happens right here. It's sad."
SOURCE
DISCLAIMER: It doesn't say here if the shooter was related to the victims, but this story SEEMS to have all the hallmarks of a domestic situation wherein a family member goes amok and kills all the others, using guns that were available in the home. If I'm wrong about that, the above image may not apply here.
ETA: It appears my instincts were (sadly) correct, according to an updated story I just found: "A 15-year-old boy was arrested in Saturday's shooting deaths of his parents, a brother and two younger sisters. A .22-caliber rifle and a semi-automatic military-style rifle, which were kept in the parents' closet, were used in the shootings, according to authorities." D:
Source of updated information
(EDITED AGAIN to fix borked html.)
It's exactly the same argument that my mum tried to use with me to talk me out of giving our kid his MMR - she never knew anyone who went blind/died/etc of measles. Yeah, sure, but are you telling me that you're on first-name, come-round-for-dinner terms with 10,000 families?
(N.B. not trying to derail talk of gun control talk into talk of MMR vaccine safety, just want to make the point that saying "but I don't know anyone with that problem" is something that loads of people do and it's frustrating in any situation where it's being held up as an actual meaningful argument vs Proper Science.)
...I won't get me started on anti-vaxxers. I completely get your argument
I still haven't managed to stop, tho. =/
The parents all thought they had the loaded gun hidden in a safe place. Every single child (all under the age of 10, some under the age of 5) knew where the gun was. I remember one small child getting on a chair to get the gun out of a shoe box on a closet shelf.
I don't understand how people can think they have a gun in the house and their children won't know where it is.
None of the pieces are loaded either, and the one in the bedroom has the loaded clip NEXT to the gun in the gun safe.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/marcweberto
Edited at 2013-01-22 02:30 am (UTC)
Yes, that's exactly what I was trying to say. All the articles I was able to find at that point were NOT coming out and saying this was a case of someone shooting members of his family, but it sure sounded like it to me. But I didn't know for a FACT, so I added the disclaimer. As it happens, I was right. I have added an update, which will hopefully clarify things.
I also added the domestic violence tag, since I now know that it definitely applies.
Edited at 2013-01-22 02:27 am (UTC)
army officerbloke to keep his firearms in a locked gun cabinet with the key on his own keyring in his own pocket at all times...So what the hell are these people thinking?
Also, is it me or does every political cartoonist have the same chicken-scratch printing?
I would have said its a font, but I'm currently looking at my Christmas card from him.