boy, 11, 'shoots dad dead after he took his nintendo switch away'

Douglas Dietz,42,was found dead in his home with a gunshot wound to his head

An 11-year-old boy has been charged with criminal homicide after his father was shot dead at their home in Pennsylvania.

Douglas Dietz,was found unresponsive in his bedroom in the early hours of Tuesday January 13,suffering a gunshot wound to the head.

According to court documents cited by local outlet WGAL News 8,Pennsylvania State Police were called to a property on South Market Street in Duncannon at around 3.20am following reports of an unresponsive male.

Officers found Douglas dead in his bedroom,which is connected to his son’s room by a closet.

Police later identified the couple’s 11-year-old son,Clayton,as the suspect.

The incident is said to have happened just hours after the family had celebrated Clayton’s birthday.

Douglas’s wife,who has not been named,told police she was woken by a loud noise and could smell something similar to fireworks.

When she attempted to wake her husband and got no response,she noticed what she thought was water dripping on the floor,which she later realised was blood,the documents said.

Local police in Pennslyvania investigated the scene before naming 11-year-old Clayton as the suspect (Picture: ABC7)

Police said Clayton entered his parents’ bedroom shouting ‘Daddy’s dead’,and officers at the scene reported hearing the boy tell his mother: ‘I killed Daddy’.

According to the affidavit,Clayton told officers he became angry after being told to go to bed.

Investigators said the boy found a key to his father’s drawer and unlocked a safe while searching for his Nintendo Switch,which had previously been taken away from him.

The documents state that he removed a gun,loaded it with bullets and walked to his father’s side of the bed before firing a single shot.

Police said Clayton’s mother was aware there was a gun in the bedroom but did not know where the key to the drawer was kept.

Authorities also noted that Douglas and his wife adopted Clayton in 2018.

Clayton was taken into custody and charged with criminal homicide. WGAL News 8 reported that he was denied bail and is being held at Perry County Prison ahead of a court hearing scheduled for January 22.