Teenager kills parents, 6 family members in Pakistan

An 18-year boy killed his father, mother and six other family members in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province early Sunday over domestic problems, police said.The murderer, Afzal, who was arrested by the police, said that he killed his family because of poverty in the city of Gujranwala, some 70 kilometers from Lahore, the provincial capital. The accused had earlier told the police that robbers had killed his family members but his claim proved wrong after the preliminary investigations. TV footage showed dead bodies laying inside the house and the people were transferring the bodies to hospital for autopsy. Police said that Afzal was a narcotics addict and used to demand money from his father, Asghar, who was a poor man and could not meet his demand. Residents told the police that the family was very poor and slain Asghar was a donkey-carter. Asghar’s wife was manufacturing footballs at home to meet requirements of the big family. A Police officer told reporters that Afza killed his six siblings - four brothers, and two sisters - and parents after drugging them. The family members were shot at a point-blank range, he said. The police recovered the pistol used for the crime after the murder informed the police. Afzal had also injured himself to mislead the police that it was a robbery attempt. He had earlier told police that unknown gunmen stormed their house and killed his whole family, but his injured hand gave the game away to police. But he later changed his statement that he first killed his parents while they were still asleep and then tied-up his siblings to gun them dead.