10-year-old Wisconsin boy allegedly shoots, kills mother for refusing to buy VR headset

The boy, who has not been named, was allegedly standing three feet away from his mom when he shot her while she was doing laundry at their home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

He has been charged with first-degree reckless homicide and, due to the nature of the crime, will be tried as an adult, as Wisconsin law requires that children as young as 10 be charged as adults for specific serious crimes, including first-degree reckless homicide, first-degree intentional homicide and attempted first-degree intentional homicide.

It is likely that the boy's attorneys will try have the case moved to juvenile court.

"The adult system is absolutely ill-equipped to address the needs of a 10-year-old child," the boy's lawyer said.

Following the incident, the boy was allowed to stay with family, and the police said in a release, based on his initial interview, said the shooting was caused by a child "playing" with a gun.

The next day, the concerned relatives contacted police questioning his story, and he admitted that he intentionally pointed the gun at his mom and that he took the gun out of the lockbox that morning because he was angry to be woken up half an hour earlier than usual, and because she would not buy the headset for him.

He then allegedly held the gun out in front of him with two hands in a shooting stance and pointed it at her.

He claims that he tried to shoot at the wall with the intention of scaring her, but she allegedly walked out in front of it and he shot her.

His family said that he has always had "rage issues" and "concerning" mental health issues, and that he has exhibited disturbing behavior in the past, including swinging the family puppy around by its tail.

He told his family that he hears five imaginary voices – two sisters, an old lady, and two "mean" men. It was allegedly the two sisters who told him to commit the murder.

The day following the murder, he used his mom's Amazon account to buy himself an Oculus VR headset, which ranges in price from $130 to as much as $500. He allegedly unremorsefully told his grandmother that he was "sorry for killing my mom" and then asked where his package was.