11-Year-Old Charged in Father's Fatal Shooting

An 11-year-old boy in Pennsylvania faces criminal homicide charges after fatally shooting his father in their family home on January 13, the child's birthday. The incident occurred around midnight in Duncannon Borough, Perry County, where police found 42-year-old Douglas Dietz dead from a gunshot wound to the head in the bedroom he shared with his wife.

According to court documents and Pennsylvania State Police, the boy, identified as Clayton Dietz, confessed to the shooting shortly after it happened. The family had celebrated Clayton's birthday earlier that evening, singing "Happy Birthday" before the parents went to bed shortly past midnight. Clayton told investigators he had enjoyed the day with his parents but became angry when his father told him it was time for bed. His Nintendo Switch gaming console had been taken away as punishment and placed in a gun safe in the parents' bedroom.

Investigators said Clayton searched his father's drawer for the key to the safe, unlocked it while looking for the console, and found an unloaded firearm inside. He admitted to loading bullets into the gun, walking to his father's side of the bed, pulling back the hammer, and firing. When asked...