An 11-year-old boy has been charged with criminal homicide after allegedly shooting and killing his father in Duncannon Borough, Perry County, Pennsylvania, according to court documents obtained by WGAL News 8 and the Pennsylvania State Police, who said officers responded to a report of an “unresponsive male” at a South Market Street home around 3:20 a.m. on Tuesday, January 13, where they found 42-year-old Douglas Dietz dead from a gunshot wound to the head in the bedroom he shared with his wife, which was connected to their son’s bedroom by a closet.
Investigators later identified the couple’s adopted son, Clayton Dietz, as the suspect, with police saying the boy entered the bedroom after the shooting and shouted, “Daddy’s dead,” and later told his mother and troopers at the scene, “I killed Daddy,” while court records state the incident occurred on Clayton’s birthday after his parents had sung to him and gone to bed shortly after midnight, adding that Clayton told investigators he became angry when his father told him to go to bed and admitted, “I shot somebody,” identifying his father as the intended target.
Police said Clayton told them he found a key in his father’s drawer, opened a gun safe in search of his Nintendo Switch that had been taken away, removed a firearm, loaded it, walked to his father’s side of the bed and fired, later telling investigators he was mad and had not thought about what would happen, while authorities confirmed the boy was taken into custody, denied bail and is being held at the Perry County Prison pending a hearing scheduled for January 22, as neighbors expressed shock over the incident and the Susquenita School District said counselors and psychologists were available to support affected students.