Teen in custody after 4 found dead in Long Branch, New Jersey home

LONG BRANCH, N.J. (WPVI) -- Minutes before midnight on New Year's Eve, a 16-year-old boy allegedly used a semi-automatic rifle owned by a family member to shoot and kill his parents, sister and a family friend inside the parents' home in a coastal city in New Jersey, the county prosecutor said.

The teen, whose name has not been released, is in police custody in connection with the shooting deaths of his father, Steven Kologi, 44; mother, Linda Kologi, 42; sister, Brittany Kologi, 18; and a family friend, Mary Schultz, 70, who was residing at the Kologi home in Long Branch, New Jersey, according to Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni and a statement from his office.

The teen's brother and grandfather apparently escaped harm. They "thankfully left the home and came out OK," Gramiccioni said at a press conference Monday morning.

Police arrived on the scene shortly after receiving a call from inside the home about shots fired at 11:43 p.m. on Dec. 31, a statement from the prosecutor's office said.

The boy was arrested at the scene without incident, Gramiccioni said.

The prosecutor said he expects that the teen will on Tuesday be charged as an adult with four counts of murder and one count possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.

No possible motive was revealed.

"It's a terribly tragic incident," Gramiccioni said.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to call Detective Andrea Tozzi, of the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office at 800-533-7443, or Detective Michael Verdadiero of the Long Branch Police Department at 732-222-1000.

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