11-year-old PA boy charged for shooting adoptive dad dead after parents took his Nintendo Switch

An 11-year-old boy has been charged with the killing of his adoptive father, who he allegedly shot to death after the dad took away the son’s Nintendo Switch.

Clayton Dietz is being charged as an adult for criminal homicide after he shot his father to death in his bed, according to authorities. The boy, surrounded by probation officers, was hauled into court on Thursday for a court hearing, video showed. The shooting took place in Duncannon, Pennsylvania. 

Clayton, who was adopted in 2018, shot Douglas Dietz, 42, with a revolver he was able to grab from his father’s safe, according to prosecutors. He later told police that he was able to find the key to the safe where his parents had locked away the gaming system, which also had the firearm.

The 11-year-old boy was screaming at the top of his lungs, “Daddy’s dead!” when police arrived on the scene at 3:20 am. The father had a gunshot wound in his head and the boy was overheard telling his mother, “I killed Daddy,” prosecutors said.

He allegedly admitted to “removing the gun from the safe, loading bullets into it and walking over to his father’s side of the bed” and then pulled back the hammer and fired the gun at his father.”

When he was asked by police what he believed would happen if he shot the gun. Authorities said in the report that he was mad and didn’t think about what would take place.

Dietz’s wife told police she woke up to a loud noise and the smell of what she thought was similar to fireworks. When she tried to wake her husband, he did not wake up and then found his blood dripping through the sheets of the bed.