Boy, II, admits to fatal shooting of ex-US mayor, his daughter

An 11-year-old boy is facing murder charges after he confessed to fatally shooting an 82-year-old relative who had once served as mayor of a small Louisiana city and the man's adult daughter over the weekend, the police said on Sept 3.

The elder victim Joe Cornelius Sr, a city council member who also briefly served as mayor of Minden, a city about 40km east of Shreveport, was found shot to death on Sept 1 at his home, along with his daughter Keisha Miles, 31.

The boy has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and is being held in lieu of US$500,000 (S$654,000) bail, Chief Jared McIver of the Minden Police Department said at a news conference on Sept 3. The police chief did not release the boy's name, nor did he disclose the exact nature of his relationship with the victims, citing the boy's age.

But he confirmed that the boy was related to the victims.

The police believe that the boy acted alone and that he used two firearms that were recovered at the scene, Mr McIver said. He said investigations are ongoing and the police did not yet know the motive for the deadly attack.

"Who knows why someone would do something this malicious and at that age," he said.