That call happened this past year, we found out after the scene was safely controlled that the teenager was severely autistic and had just witnessed his father come into the apartment, send the two younger children out and proceed to kill the woman, who we later learned was his estranged wife and then himself.
The autistic teenager was covered in blood it appears because he went over after the killings and was hugging his mom and dad, he then mimicked their actions and laid back on the couch until I startled him. I would love to take all the credit and say that it was all planned and choreographed perfectly. Yes, part of it was my training and experience but the truth is the two factors that saved this from being an even greater tragedy was the fact that I didn't know if the teenager had been shot in the back of the head (and I having been an EMT before being a cop, did not want to physically yank him to the floor and risk possibly paralyzing a victim) and the fact that when he was startled, he did not make a move towards the gun.
I am glad that I never had to find out but I often wonder what would have happened if I initially made the assumption that he was not a victim or if when I startled him he jumped towards the gun before I could have secured him.
It is not something that wakes me up at night screaming, but it is something that does bother me when I think about it.
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