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- The chilling acts the 15-year-old boy is accused of defy imagination: Pumping his mother, brother and two younger
sisters with bullets. Gunning down his dad when he returned home. Texting a picture of his lifeless mother to his 12-
year-old girlfriend. Plotting to kill strangers outside a supermarket. But, family members say, Nehemiah Griego is no
monster. They can't fathom what could have gone
so terribly wrong. "Whether it was a mental breakdown or some
deeper undiagnosed psychological issue, we can't
be sure yet," his uncle, former New Mexico state
Sen. Eric Griego, said. "What we do know is that none of us, even in our
wildest nightmare, could have imagined that he
could do something like this." The family statement describes the boy as a
gifted athlete and musician who was active in
youth services at church. It said the teen accompanied his father on mission
trips to Mexico and wanted to continue a long
family history of military service by becoming a
soldier. The family disputed any media characterization
that the teen was a loner and said he had many
friends and was a wrestler in state tournaments.
His father was a champion wrestler and coach. The family also said they did not want anyone to
use the case in the nation's unfolding debate
about guns. "To be clear, our family has differing views on gun
rights and gun control. What we do agree on is
that those who wish to score political points
should not use a confused, misguided, 15-year-old
boy to make their case," the family statement
said. "We ask those in the media and those who would
use the media to make their political case, to not
use Nehemiah as a pawn for ratings or to score
political points. He is a troubled young man who
made a terrible decision that will haunt him and his
family forever." But authorities painted a far different picture of the
teen. Sheriff: Teen planned shootings for at least a
week Bernalillo County Sheriff Dan Houston said Griego
was "involved heavily" with violent video games
and that he "was quite excited as he got the
opportunity to discuss that with our investigators." He said that the boy planned the shootings for at
least a week. That he told investigators he was
frustrated with his mother. That he contemplated
killing his girlfriend's parents. That he hoped to
continue his killing spree at a Walmart "with mass
destruction" and die in a shootout with police. The teen's demeanor, as he shared all this, was
"stern, very unemotional," Houston said. Now, Griego will stand trial as an adult in the
weekend killings, prosecutors announced. He was arrested Saturday night, after deputies
found the bodies of his mother, father, brother and
two of his sisters in their home on the outskirts of
Albuquerque. Opinion: How a boy becomes a killer The tragedy unfolds The tragedy unfolded early Saturday morning,
when Griego carried a .22-caliber rifle to where his
mother and 9-year-old brother slept side by side,
an arrest affidavit said. The teen fatally shot his mother, waking his
younger brother Zephania in the process. When Griego told Zephania that their mother was
dead, the younger boy did not believe him, the
document stated. "So Nehemiah picked up his mother's head to
show his brother her bloody face," the affidavit
said. "Nehemiah stated his brother became upset,
so he shot his brother in the head with the same
rifle used to kill his mother." After that, police said, "Nehemiah stated he lost
his sense of conscience." The boy went on to kill his sisters, 5-year-old Jael
and 2-year-old Angelina, before his father Greg
came home from a volunteer graveyard shift at a
homeless shelter. Authorities believe the father, a former pastor at
an Albuquerque church and a chaplain to the city's
fire department, was the last to be gunned down in
the home. KRQE: Security officer -- Boy was a 'great kid' 'Beyond any human reasoning' Most of the victims were shot with the .22, but a
semiautomatic AR-15 rifle was also used in the
killings, sheriff's Lt. Sid Covington said.
Authorities said the weapons appear to have been
purchased legally. The Griegos also had five grown children, none of
whom lived at home, Covington said. After the slayings, Griego "spent the majority of
the day with his girlfriend," Houston said. He even sent his girlfriend a picture of his slain
mother, Houston said. Authorities arrested the teen after he attended his
family's church with his girlfriend, and a staff
member called deputies. Pastor Skip Heitzig said father Greg Griego was
also a pastor for a number of years who did prison
ministry at the Metropolitan Detention Center and
helped to rehabilitate convicts. Greg Griego also
helped them re-enter society. "The news stunned us all," Heitzig said of the
shooting. "We are doing what we can as a church body to
minister to the remaining family members. Only
the Lord Jesus Christ can heal this type of pain
and heartache, and He is faithful to do so," he
added in a statement. His church, Calvary Albuquerque, is scheduled to
hold a prayer vigil Wednesday at 7 p.m. for the
Griego family. Griego was scheduled to appear in court Tuesday
to face two counts of murder and three counts of
child abuse resulting in death, but the hearing was
waived, CNN affiliate KOAT reported. The affiliate said Griego's case will go to a grand
jury within 10 days. "This is beyond any human reasoning or
understanding at this time," the sheriff said.