15-year-old boy held pending charges in 5 deaths in Washington state

SEATTLE (AP) — A 15-year-old boy will be held pending charges in connection with the deaths of two adults and three young teenagers at a home in East Seattle, authorities said Tuesday.

The teen waived his right to appear in court Tuesday, according to the King County Prosecutor’s Office. A judge found probable cause for five counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder in the killings. A child was also injured and hospitalized.

During the hearing at the Judge Patricia H. Clark Children and Family Justice Center in Seattle, the judge also ordered the teen to have no contact with someone prosecutors described as his surviving family member immediate.

The injured person, an 11-year-old girl, was in “satisfactory condition” Tuesday at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, hospital spokeswoman Susan Gregg said. Law enforcement initially indicated that the person hospitalized was a teenager.

Police said they believe everyone involved is related. A neighbor told KING-TV that a couple and their five children lived in the home.

The 15-year-old’s defense attorneys said in court that he has no criminal history and asked the media not to release his name before a charging decision is made, which the judge granted.

Several people called 911 around 5 a.m. Monday to report a shooting at a home in Fall City, Washington, an unincorporated community about 25 miles (40 kilometers) from Seattle.

Officers found the bodies of five people inside the home, King County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Mike Mellis said. Arriving officers immediately took the teenager into custody while the injured girl was taken to hospital. Both live in the house, Mellis said.

The 15-year-old was booked into the King County Juvenile Detention Center and no further arrests were expected, Mellis said.

Mellis said investigators believe those killed were shot. Their names and causes of death have not yet been released.

It is the 32nd mass killing in the country this year, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University.

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