Susan Montoya Bryan / AP

Bernalillo County authorities stationed outside a home where two adults and three children were found shot to death south of Albuquerque.

Updated at 12:15 a.m. ET: A 15-year-old boy has been charged in the shooting deaths of two adults and three children in southwest Albuquerque, N.M., local police said.

The suspect, identified by Bernalillo County police as Nehemiah Griego, has been arrested and placed in a juvenile detention center. He is charged with two counts of murder and three counts of "child abuse resulting in death," according to a police statement.

A police statement identified the victims as Greg Griego, 51, his wife, Sarah Griego, 40, and three of their children -- Zephania Griego, 9, Jael Griego, 5, and Angelina Griego, 2. 

Greg Griego was a chaplain at the county jail in Albuquerque and spiritual counselor to the Albuquerque Fire Department, according to a statement by Fire Chief James Breen. 

Breen described Griego as dedicated and passionate chaplain with a "calming spirit and gentle nature."  

Bernalillo County sheriff's deputies responded to a private residence in the city's South Valley area around 9:15 p.m. Saturday. They found the bodies inside the residence.

They also found several weapons at the scene of the crime, including a semi-automatic military-style rifle, according to Bernalillo County sheriff's spokesman Aaron Williamson.

"There's no other way to say it, but we have a horrific crime scene we're working, and it'll be intensive, and we'll work hard to do everything that needs to be done," Sheriff Dan Houston told KRQE-TV.

The investigation is ongoing. 

NBC's Isolde Raftery contributed reporting.

This story was originally published on Sun Jan 20, 2013 1:14 PM EST