14-year-old confesses to killing 5 family members in Limestone County

ELKMONT, Ala. (WAFF) - The Limestone County Sheriff’s Department confirmed early Tuesday morning that a 14-year-old has confessed to killing five family members in the Elkmont community.

Deputies with the Limestone County Sheriff Office say the victims were the 14-year-old’s father 38-year-old John Sisk , his stepmother 35-year-old Mary Sisk , 6-year-old brother, 5-year-old sister and his 6-month-old brother.

Huntsville City Schools confirms that Mary Sisk was a teacher at Mountain Gap Middle School. In a statement, school spokesman Keith Ward said, “We are heartbroken to learn of the tragedy involving one of our teachers, Mary Sisk, and her family. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Sisk family and we ask everyone to remember them during this difficult time. The district will help Mountain Gap Middle School this week with additional counselors and other resources for any students and staff who need support during this time.”

The incident happened around 10:30 p.m. Monday. Around 1:15 a.m., Limestone County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Stephen Young told us that deputies were called to the scene by a juvenile in the house who says he was in the basement of the home when he heard gunshots from the main level upstairs.

Deputies found one adult and two juveniles dead, and one adult and one juvenile with critical injuries. The adult was flown to Huntsville Hospital, the juvenile was flown to Children’s Hospital in Birmingham.

Just before 3 a.m., Sheriff Mike Blakely arrived on the scene to tell deputies and investigators that the two surviving victims had died, and the 14-year-old who called authorities confessed to the crime.

Authorities tell us there were enough discrepancies found in the 14-year-old statements that the sheriff and investigator interviewed him and upon being confronted with those inconsistencies, he admitted to shooting all five people.

The Limestone County Sheriff’s Office tell us they found the handgun that was used in the shooting and it was illegally in the residence.

Officials at Elkmont High School are asking for prayers for the school and community. Officials say they will have grief counselors at the school today.

“On behalf of the Limestone County School Board of Education, we are deeply saddened by this tragedy. We are concentrating our efforts in assisting students and faculty in dealing with this tragedy. Additional counselors and Limestone County mental health counselors will be on site,” said Karen Tucker, Limestone County Board of Education.

We will continue to update this story as new information becomes available.

Copyright 2019 WAFF. All rights reserved.