An 11-year-old Pennsylvania boy allegedly shot his father to death after previously having his Nintendo Switch handheld gaming system taken away.
The boy is facing criminal homicide charges after a 13 January shooting at his family’s home in Duncannon Borough.
As put in court documents obtained and reported by WGAL News 8, the case illustrates how easily children can access guns in the US, where firearms are ubiquitous.
Police were dispatched to the family’s residence at about 3.20am, after a report of an “unresponsive male”. The news site says that officers found a 42-year-old man named Douglas Dietz dead in bed from a gunshot wound to the head.
The victim was reportedly discovered in the bedroom he shared with his wife, which court documents say is connected to their son’s bedroom by a closet.
The news outlet states that after investigating, authorities identified the man’s 11-year-old son as the suspect.
Police reported it was the child’s birthday, and he had entered the bedroom shouting: “Daddy’s dead.” Troopers at the scene also reportedly said that they heard the son tell his mother: “I killed Daddy.”
Police said the shooting occurred after the couple had gone to bed shortly past midnight. The child reportedly told authorities that he had had a good day with his parents, but the documents reportedly state that he became “mad” when his father told him it was time to go to bed.
The affidavit, cited by WGAL News 8, reportedly states that when officers asked the boy what had happened, he replied: “I shot somebody.” The sworn police statement also said: “He admitted that he had someone in mind whom he was going to shoot, whom he identified as his father.”
According to the news outlet, the court document says that the boy told police he found a key to the gun safe his father’s drawer in his parent’s bedroom. He reportedly unlocked it while attempting to locate his Nintendo Switch – which had previously been taken away from him – and found a gun.
The son then allegedly admitted to “removing the gun from the safe, loading bullets into it and walking over to his father’s side of the bed”, according to the affidavit. “He pulled back the hammer and fired the gun at his father,” the affidavit adds.
When asked what he believed would happen when he fired the gun, the boy responded that he was “mad” and that he had “not thought about that”, according to investigators.
WGAL News 8 reported that the child was denied bail after being taken into custody. A hearing is tentatively scheduled for 22 January.
