15-Year-Old Charged with Murdering Five Family Members in Fall City, Washington

A 15-year-old, Andrew, has been charged with multiple counts of murder after being accused of shooting and killing five members of his family in Fall City, Washington, on October 21. According to court documents, he then called 911, claiming he was almost a victim himself. In the 911 call, the teen alleged he had rushed to the bathroom to escape the gunfire; however, according to court documents, the sole survivor his 11-year-old sister had a different story.

Investigators say a 911 call first came in from the 15-year-old just before 5 a.m. when he told dispatchers that someone had just shot his whole family. The teen then accused one of his deceased younger brothers of committing the crime, alleging that his brother had done so because he was caught looking at pornography the night before.

However, his sister managed to escape by playing dead after being shot in the hand and neck. The 11-year-old spoke to a 911 operator after fleeing to a neighbor’s home. The story she shared dramatically contradicted her brother’s statements.

Court documents show that the young survivor was crucial in telling police what she witnessed Monday morning. She said she was asleep in her room with her 7-year-old sister, Katie, and woke up to gunfire. She reported seeing her brother, Joshua, shot in the head, and her dad, Mark, hit multiple times, lying in the hallway, bleeding from the head and mouth. She said her younger sister, Katie, went out into the hallway, and she heard another gunshot, then saw her sister fall to the floor. Then, she saw her brother enter her room, point a gun at her, and shoot her. She thought a single bullet hit both her hand and her neck, and she immediately felt pain. Then, she saw him leaning over the three bodies in the hall, touching their necks or chests to see if they were alive. She told police that when he came back, she closed her eyes, held her breath, and pretended to play dead as he stood next to her bed. He eventually left, and she escaped out of the fire window.

She told officers that Andrew had recently gotten into trouble for failing some tests and that he had used their father’s Glock pistol, which he kept in a lockbox.

The King County Medical Examiner’s Office stated that the second-oldest son was shot multiple times in the head. Investigators say their mother, Sarah, also died of multiple gunshot wounds to the head. She was found in the bathroom, with the bathroom doorframe splintered as if it had been locked and then forced open.

Police also said in court documents that they believe the teen staged the shooting in some way by placing a gun on or near his deceased brother’s hand.