Boy retrieves Nintendo Switch locked away in gun safe, and shoots his father

2026, January 20

United States

On January 13, the night of his 11th birthday, a boy allegedly shot his father with a gun retrieved from a gun safe in the family's home in Duncannon Borough, Pennsylvania. According to court documents, the boy told investigators he became mad after his father told him to go to bed.

Police charged the boy with criminal homicide. The court has refused bail.

The boy was placed in Perry County Prison, and an initial court hearing was scheduled for January 22, according to a criminal docket.

According to court documents, the mother was asleep until the gunshot woke her. When state police arrived at the home, the boy was heard shouting "Daddy's dead" and was overheard telling his mother, "I killed Daddy."

Police arrived on scene around 3:20 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (08:20 UTC). According to the affidavit, the boy told the police that he did not think about what would happen after the shot, saying he was "mad and did not think about that."

According to court documents, the boy told investigators he found a key to the gun safe in a drawer and unlocked the safe in an attempt to get back his Nintendo Switch, then loaded the gun and shot his father.

The Nintendo Switch had been placed in a gun safe located in the parents' bedroom.

The parents adopted the boy in 2018, according to a report by the New York Post.