Teen guns down family on NYE

A 16-YEAR-OLD New Jersey boy gunned down his parents, sister and a family friend on New Year's Eve, turning the family home into a bloodbath that his brother and grandfather managed to escape, police said.

According to Fox News, the teenager fatally shot his father, mother, sister and a family friend who also lived in the Long Branch, New Jersey home, Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni said in a statement. He was taken into custody without incident, Mr Gramiccioni said.

"We are confident that this is a domestic incident that is completely isolated," Mr Gramiccioni said. "It's a terribly tragic incident."

The boy's name was not released, but the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office identified the dead as: Steven Kologi, 44; Linda Kologi, 42; Brittany Kologi, 18; and Mary Schultz, 70. Schultz was identified as a "family acquaintance" by the prosecutor's office.

The alleged suspect's brother and grandfather were also at the home at the time of the shooting but were able to escape unharmed, Mr Gramiccioni said during a Monday press conference.

The teenager is accused of using a semiautomatic assault rifle to gun down his family members and the family friend, authorities said. The gun was legally owned and registered to a family member, Gramiccioni said.

Gramiccioni declined to comment on the suspect's motive or a possible mental disability when asked by reporters. He did say the attack was an "isolated" domestic incident.

"Thankfully, it was uneventful," Mr Gramiccioni said of the suspect's arrest.

Police received a 911 call about the shooting at 11.43pm (3.43pm AEDT) local time Sunday from inside the 635 Wall St. house, where the four victims were found dead, he said.

"It's a terribly tragic incident," Mr Gramiccioni said.

The suspect - whose name was not released because he is a juvenile - was expected to be charged as an adult with four counts of murder, Mr Gramiccioni said.

He also will be charged with possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, the prosecutor said.

Authorities said police had not previously been to the house for domestic violence calls.

An Ocean Township resident who played softball with the father described the 16-year-old as "the nicest kid in the world."

"He came to watch the softball games with Linda and he was always smiling. This is totally out of the blue," Joe Rios, 52, toldThe New York Post.

"This is not something I ever thought this young boy would do. I don't know what happened. He was not a violent kid. He was always smiling," said Rios, adding that he hung out with Steve every other weekend.

Rios also said the weapon belonged to Steven's father, who is a veteran.

The Kologis owned the three-family home, where a friend of Rios lives in the basement and called him early Monday.

"She called me and said she heard gunshots. She said. 'Something had happened!'" Rios said.

"Steve is a great person. He did everything for his family and his four kids," Rios said about the slain dad, who was a truck driver.

One of Steven's children is from another marriage and didn't live at the Wall Street home, he said.

A woman who lives a couple of blocks away said she heard what she thought were fireworks.

"On any other day we would have thought, 'What the heck was that?' But because it was New Year's Eve we didn't pay any attention. It's so sad," Yvonne Moss, 62, told The Post.

Another neighbor said he heard both the gunfire and fireworks go off simultaneously.

"I walked outside at midnight. We heard the commotion and lights flashing and saw (the police) storm the house," said James Roskowinski, referring to himself and a roommate, the Asbury park Press reported.

"It's a shame the new year has to start off like this," he said.

The Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office and Long Branch police are conducting a joint investigation.

This story was originally published on Fox News and is reprinted with permission.