bout a month after a deadly shooting, an 11-year-old US boy accused of targeting his adoptive father in their own home in Pennsylvania made his first court appearance on Thursday (US time). The fateful development, which took place on January 13, reportedly occurred at the family residence in Duncannon on the child’s birthday.
Why is an 11-year-old facing an adult trial?
Despite his young age, the boy is currently facing trial as an adult on criminal homicide charges. His attorney Dave Wilson has since revealed that he is trying to get the case transferred to juvenile court.
According to Pennsylvania law, a child charged with homicide, regardless of age, is automatically charged as an adult, but the case can be sought to be moved from adult court to juvenile court.
As per US reports citing a Perry County criminal docket, the 11-year-old’s preliminary hearing set for February 19 was waived, with the case marked as “waived for court.”
Now, as the case is set to proceed to the Court of Common Pleas, the docket suggests the boy’s bail was denied on January 13. He currently remains in custody at the Perry County Prison.
Douglas Dietz shooting in Pennsylvania: What happened?
Records cited by local US news outlet WHP indicated that authorities were called to the family’s Pennsylvania home shortly after 3 am on January 13. The affidavit mentioned in the report stated that the boy’s father was discovered lying lifeless on his back with an apparent gunshot wound to the head.
Upon the unfortunate discovery, his wife told investigators that the incident took place after both of them had gone to bed shortly after celebrating their son’s birthday and singing a song for him. After a loud voice awakened her from sleep, she tried to wake her husband as well. However, she soon realised that he was unresponsive and found blood on the bed, stated the court documents cited by WHP.
As per the outlet’s report, the boy then allegedly ran downstairs shouting, “My dad’s dead.” Moreover, as authorities spoke with the mother and her accused son, a state trooper claims to have heard the 11-year-old say, “I killed Daddy,” according to the US outlet.
What led to the Pennsylvania home shooting?
According to WHP, investigators are said to have told authorities that the 11-year-old had been looking for his Nintendo Switch, which had previously been confiscated by his parents. During his search, the boy ended up finding the keys to a gun safe and opened it, thinking the video game console was inside it.
He picked up the revolver from the case, as per the report. While outlining the series of events that led to the shooting, the 11-year-old boy was asked what he though would happen when he fired the gun. According to WHP, he said that he didn’t think about the circumstances because he was angry.
Court records cited by the report also notably captured the boy admitting that “he had someone in mind who he was going to shoot.” The docs reportedly also mention him loading the revolver, pulling the hammer and shooting his father while he was sleeping.
It was also noted that the young boy had a “large contusion” above his left eye and a small laceration on his lower lip.
This week, videos of the 11-year-old boy arriving for his initial court appearance in handcuffs made shocking headlines on the Internet.
This is an ongoing investigation.