An 11-year-old boy from Pennsylvania is facing homicide charges after he admitted to shooting and killing his father, according to state police.
On January 13 at around 3:20 am, officers responded to a home in Duncannon Borough, which is approximately 94 miles west of Allentown, after receiving an emergency call. They found Douglas Dietz, 42, dead from a gunshot wound to the head at the home, according to court records obtained by WGAL News 8.
Police found Dietz inside the bedroom he shares with his wife. The room connects to his son’s room through a closet.
Clayton Dietz, 11 — Dietz’s son — was identified as a suspect during the police investigation.
Dietz’s wife told police that she was awoken by a loud noise, and that she smelled something similar to the scent of exploded fireworks. She said she tried to wake her husband, but he didn’t move, and that she heard water dripping, which she later came to realize was blood.
According to the court documents, Clayton then entered the room and yelled “daddy’s dead.”
State police who responded to the scene reportedly heard Clayton tell his mother that “I killed daddy.”
The incident occurred on the boy’s birthday, according to the court documents. The couple reportedly went to bed shortly after they sang happy birthday to the boy just after midnight.
The court documents said that Clayton became angry with his father after his father told him he needed to go to sleep. When police questioned Clayton about the incident, he allegedly told them “I shot somebody.”
According to the court documents, Dietz’s gun was locked up elsewhere in the house, but Clayton managed to find the key in his father’s drawer. He reportedly went into the gun safe looking for his Nintendo Switch, which his father had taken away from him earlier in the evening.
Police said Clayton admitted to “removing the gun from the safe, loading bullets into it and walking over to his father’s side of the bed,.”
“He pulled back the hammer and fired the gun at his father,” the court documents say.
When police asked Clayton what he thought would happen if he pulled the trigger, the boy reportedly admitted that he was “mad, and he had not thought about that.”
Clayton was arrested and has been charged with criminal homicide. He was denied bail and is being held at the Perry County Prison. His next hearing is scheduled for January 22.
The couple reportedly adopted Clayton in 2018.
The Susquenita School District in Perry County issued a statement on Wednesday noting the incident and offering resources for those affected by the shooting.
“We recognize that in a close-knit community such as ours, events like this can affect our students,” the statement said. “Our school counselors and psychologists are available to provide support to any students in need.”
