DUNCANNON, Pa. — An 11-year-old Pennsylvania child has been charged as an adult, accused of killing his father after being told he could not play his Nintendo Switch and to go to sleep.
Pennsylvania State Police said that Clayton Dietz told them that he shot Douglas Dietz on Jan. 13, which was the child’s birthday, WHTM reported.
Troopers were called to the home in Duncannon, Pennsylvania, for a report of an unresponsive male. They found Douglas Dietz in his bed with a gunshot to his head.
A revolver was found in a closet connecting the child’s room with that of his parents.
Clayton Dietz had a bloody lip and a swollen bruise above his eye, according to troopers.
Jillian Dietz told troopers that she went to bed just after midnight, after she and her husband sang “Happy Birthday” to their son, WHP reported.
Jillian Dietz said she was sleeping next to her husband when she heard a loud sound and smelled something like fireworks. When she tried to wake up Douglas, she heard something dripping and realized it was blood when she turned on the lights, WGAL reported.
Jillian and Douglas Dietz adopted Clayton in 2018, WHTM reported.
She said she believed that her son shot her husband, she told troopers.
Clayton then came into the room and said that his father was dead.
A state trooper said he heard the boy say at the scene, “I killed daddy,” and that he was looking for his Nintendo Switch, found the keys to a gun safe, and pulled out the gun.
Jillian Dietz said that she heard her son yell, “I killed my dad, I hate myself.”
Troopers spoke with Clayton, who said he and his parents had a good day but got mad when he was told by his father to go to sleep. He told police that he went into the room from the shared closet, adding, “I shot somebody.”
He said he found the keys to the safe and used them to open it to look for his Switch, then he took the gun, loaded it and fired at his father.
But he told police when asked that he was angry but didn’t think about what could happen.
Clayton Dietz was charged with criminal homicide and was denied bail. He was being held at the Perry County Prison, WGAL reported.
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