A 16-year-old Corsican boy has confessed to shooting and killing his sleeping parents and 10-year-old twin brothers with a hunting rifle, officials said.
Police found the four corpses in bloodied beds in the family home on the French Mediterranean island after interviewing the teenager, said Hubert Deininger, a police colonel.
Vice prosecutor Valerie Tavernier said police are still trying to piece together the full story of what happened Tuesday night in the south Corsican village of Albitreccia.
Judicial officials said the teen told an uncle of his killing spree Wednesday, and the two went to a police station. The officials said the boy described shooting all four victims and told investigators where he hid the weapon, but gave no explanation for his actions.
Detectives were questioning the alleged shooter Thursday and have not identified either him or the victims by name. The father was 43, the mother 45.
"It is a bit premature to draw an analysis about his psychological situation," Deininger told France-Info radio.
Neighbors described the parents as local merchants well known in the nearby resort of Porticcio.