New Mexico shooting: ‘Extremely intoxicated’ boy accused of shooting his entire family dead

Inside the home, police reported finding a gun on the kitchen table and the bodies of four family members.

• A 16-year-old, Diego Leyva, is accused of killing his family while ‘extremely intoxicated’, police say.
• Leyva allegedly called authorities after the incident, which occurred in Belen, New Mexico.
• He was taken to a hospital for detoxification and then booked into a juvenile justice centre.

A 16-year-old is accused of shooting dead his entire family while in “an extremely intoxicated state”, according to police.

Diego Leyva is facing first-degree murder charges after allegedly gunning down his family in the early hours of Sunday morning before calling the authorities.

The incident took place in Belen, in Valencia County, New Mexico, about 3.30am on Sunday.

When police arrived at the scene, Diego allegedly walked outside with his hands raised and in an “extremely intoxicated” state, New Mexico police said.

Inside the home, police reported finding a gun on the kitchen table and the bodies of four family members.

Officials said Diego “told a dispatcher he had killed his family”.

The suspect’s 42-year-old father, Leonardo Leyva, 35-year-old mother, Adriana Bencomo, 16-year-old sister, Adrian, and 14-year-old brother, Alexander, were all found dead with gunshot wounds, law enforcement said.

State police said Diego surrendered without incident and was taken to a hospital for detoxification.

He was then booked into a juvenile justice centre in Albuquerque on Sunday morning, officials said.

The county sheriff’s office said it had handed the case over to the state police for investigation of the quadruple homicide.

“I would never have thought that something like this would happen and that Diego would be capable of doing something like this,” Vanessa LaGrange, a former teacher of Diego, told the Guardian. “Everyone’s in shock.”

State investigators are still trying to determine a motive for the killings.