Police Say Father Killed by Adopted Son After Nintendo Switch Taken Away [WATCH]

An 11-year-old boy has been charged with homicide in Pennsylvania after police say he shot and killed his adoptive father inside the family’s home following an argument over a Nintendo Switch gaming console, as reported by The Blaze.

According to court documents and police reports, 42-year-old Douglas Dietz was found dead from a gunshot wound to the head inside his bedroom early Tuesday morning in the borough of Duncannon.

Officers with local law enforcement responded to the residence on South Market Street at approximately 3:20 a.m. after receiving a report of a shooting.

Dietz’s wife told police she had been sleeping next to her husband when she was awakened by a loud noise. She said she initially smelled something similar to fireworks and then heard what sounded like liquid dripping.

After turning on the light, she realized the sound was blood and discovered her husband had been shot.

Police noted that the parents’ bedroom was connected to their adopted son’s bedroom through a shared closet.

According to investigators, the couple’s adopted son, Clayton Dietz, entered the bedroom shortly after the shooting and told his mother, “Daddy’s dead.” Police also reported that the boy later said to his mother, “I killed Daddy.”

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Court documents state that when officers questioned the boy, he admitted to shooting his father after becoming angry when he was told to go to bed. Investigators said the incident occurred shortly after the family had celebrated the boy’s birthday.

“He admitted that he had someone in mind whom he was going to shoot, whom he identified as his father,” police wrote in their report.

According to police, the boy said he had been upset because his Nintendo Switch had been taken away. While looking for the device, he allegedly found the key to the family’s gun safe.

The boy told investigators that he opened the safe, removed a firearm, and walked through the connected closet into his parents’ bedroom. Police said he described walking to his father’s side of the bed.

“He pulled back the hammer and fired the gun at his father,” police said.

Dietz was pronounced dead at the scene. First responders found no signs of a struggle in the bedroom aside from the gunshot wound, according to police records.

The boy has been charged with homicide and was taken into custody. Authorities confirmed he was booked into the Perry County Prison, where he is being held without bail. Juvenile court proceedings are expected as the case moves forward.

A neighbor, Jesse Weldon, told WGAL-TV that the incident shocked the community.

“They’re very kind. I mean, I didn’t talk to them much. They, you know, kept to themselves over there and just seemed pretty nice. I didn’t expect this,” Weldon said.

Police confirmed that Douglas Dietz and his wife adopted Clayton in 2018, when the boy was approximately three years old.

The case remains under investigation as authorities review additional evidence and court proceedings continue in Perry County.

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