A 15-year-old boy shot and killed three siblings at a home near Fairbanks and was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said Wednesday. Alaska State Troopers said in a statement that they received a report of shots fired at a Fairbanks home Tuesday afternoon. The report came from a neighbor, trooper spokesman Tim DeSpain said. Responding troopers found four children dead from apparent gunshot wounds. The children’s parents were not home when the shooting occurred, troopers said. Three other children were in the home and were not injured, the statement said. DeSpain said the children who were not injured are all under the age of 7, while the dead were ages 5, 8, 17 and 15. He said all the children were brothers. Troopers said the state Office of Children’s Services had been notified. Clinton Bennett, a spokesman for the Department of Family and Community Services, which houses the office, said via email that the office “will not be releasing any information due to rules and regulations regarding the confidentiality of all involved in specific cases.” The office also “will not release any information pertaining to a case with an open investigation,” Bennett wrote. Troopers said their investigation indicates a 15-year-old boy shot three brothers and then shot himself. DeSpain said the question of motive is part of the investigation. The bodies were taken to the state medical examiner. DeSpain said the gun was “a family gun, but beyond that, everything is still part of the ongoing investigation.” He could not say whether the 15-year-old had previous interactions with law enforcement, saying that would be part of the investigation. Fairbanks is located in central Alaska, about 360 miles (580 kilometers) north of Anchorage.
