A Russian teenager has confessed to setting fire to a house with his family inside — an attack that killed five people, investigators said.
The 17-year-old in the village of Shirokaya in the Zabaikalsky region is believed to have committed the alleged arson in response to a quarrel with his uncle, which took place while the two had been drinking, the local Investigative Committee branch said in a statement Sunday.
Firefighters, after extinguishing the flames, have found the bodies of five people inside — three women and two men, investigators said.
The teenager has told investigators that at the time of the alleged arson, there were five people in the house — the suspect's mother, grandmother and uncle, and two of their friends, a man and a woman, the Investigative Committee said.
A criminal case has been opened on charges of the murder of two or more people, the statement said.