By Jared Harris October 23, 2024 at 5:55am
A young girl is the lone surviving victim of a massacre in a Washington state family home.
Two adults and three children were found dead Monday in a home near Fall City where the suspect, a 15-year old boy who also lived there, was arrested without incident.
Multiple agencies responded to the 911 call, but found the killing at the chaotic scene was already at an end.
According to The Seattle Times, the teen suspect is facing five counts of first-degree murder and a single count of attempted first-degree murder.
The 15-year-old waived his right to appear in court Tuesday.
Although he has not yet been officially charged, King County Juvenile Court Judge Joe Campagna found probable cause for all six counts.
The teenager appears to have no current criminal history.
According to his defense attorney Amy Parker, he likes mountain biking and fishing.
If prosecutors decide to pursue charges by Thursday, the teen will be arraigned Friday.
The surviving 11-year-old girl was wounded in the killing but is now in good condition at Harborview Medical Center.
The names of the victims and suspect have not yet been released by the King County Medical Examiner’s Office. Exact ages for the five deceased similarly have not been confirmed.
At a vigil for the family, Rhea Roberts, a youth soccer coach who oversees a team of 8-year-old and 9-year-old boys that one of the victims played for, said it was the last family that anyone would expect this to happen to.
Investigators are still working to piece together the incident, which ended in an apparently peaceful surrender. The entire investigation count take days or even weeks to complete.
Multiple neighbors called 911 when they heard gunshots, according to KING-TV.
FALL CITY MURDERS🚨: The teen boy taken into custody after 5 people were found dead in Fall City is expected to make his first court appearance today.@kingcosoPIO described it as a “tragic scene” — deputies finding two adults and three children dead inside a home. Law… pic.twitter.com/RHZHRmIYg7
— Savannah Welch (@svnnh_wlch) October 22, 2024
“There was no significant confrontation with the young man that was taken into custody,” The Seattle Times reports King County Sheriff’s Deputy Mike Mellis as saying.
“What had happened had happened. It was done.”
Authorities confirmed that firearms were involved.
Mellis called the killings a “very contained tragedy,” only affecting the family, extended family or residents of the home.
Jared has written more than 200 articles and assigned hundreds more since he joined The Western Journal in February 2017. He was an infantryman in the Arkansas and Georgia National Guard and is a husband, dad and aspiring farmer.
Jared has written more than 200 articles and assigned hundreds more since he joined The Western Journal in February 2017. He is a husband, dad, and aspiring farmer. He was an infantryman in the Arkansas and Georgia National Guard. If he’s not with his wife and son, then he’s either shooting guns or working on his motorcycle.
Location
Arkansas
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Military, firearms, history
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
