16-year-old US boy accused of gunning down his family

Police said the boy shot down his father, mother, sister and a family friend at their home in New York. The suspect’s brother and grandfather were apparently unharmed.

A teenage boy in the US state of New Jersey was in police custody Monday after being accused of gunning down his family on New Year’s Eve with a semi-automatic rifle, authorities said.

Prosecutors did not release the motive for the killings, which the boy carried out with a Century Arms semi-automatic rifle. (Representational Photo)

Police were called to a home in the city of Long Branch, about 90 km south of New York, at 11.43 pm Sunday in response to a report of shots fired and found four people dead, Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni said in a statement.

The victims were the suspect’s father Steven Kologi, 44; mother Linda Kologi, 42; sister Brittany Kologi, 18; and family friend Mary Schultz, 70.

The suspect’s brother and grandfather were apparently unharmed. They “thankfully left the home and came out OK,” Gramiccioni said at a press conference Monday, according to ABC News.

Prosecutors did not release a motive for the killings, which the boy carried out with a Century Arms semi-automatic rifle.

The teenager, whose name was not released, was taken into custody without incident.