CBS NEWS
BCSO deputies and crime scene personnel work the scene of a five-person homicide on Long Lane SW, in Albuquerque, N.M., Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013. Authorities said a teenage boy fatally shot two adults and three children at the home.
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."