An 11-year-old boy in Pennsylvania has been charged as an adult with criminal homicide after allegedly shooting his adoptive father in the head while he slept, following a dispute over a confiscated Nintendo Switch gaming console. Clayton Dietz appeared at the Perry County Courthouse on February 19 in handcuffs, escorted by probation officers, for a preliminary hearing that he subsequently waived. His attorney, Dave Wilson, stated after the hearing that his primary goal is to have the case transferred to juvenile court.
The shooting occurred in the early hours of January 13, 2026, which was Clayton's 11th birthday. According to court documents, the family had celebrated at midnight by singing happy birthday to the child. Shortly afterward, his adoptive father, Douglas Dietz, 42, told Clayton to surrender his Nintendo Switch and go to bed. Police responded to the family home on South Market Street in Duncannon Borough at approximately 3:20 a.m. after receiving a call about an unresponsive male and found Douglas Dietz dead from a gunshot wound to the head.
Court records reveal a disturbing sequence of events. Clayton told investigators that after his parents confiscated the gaming console, he went looking for it and discovered a key to the family gun safe in his father's drawer. He then removed a revolver from the safe, loaded it with ammunition, walked to his father's bedside, pulled back the hammer, and fired. Douglas Dietz's wife, who was asleep beside her husband, reported being awakened by a loud noise that smelled like fireworks. When she attempted to rouse Douglas and turned on the light, she discovered blood. Clayton then entered the room and announced that his father was gone. Officers at the scene heard the boy tell his mother that he had taken his father's life.
When questioned by police, Clayton stated that he had someone in mind whom he intended to shoot and identified that person as his father. Asked what he expected to happen after firing the weapon, the boy replied that he had been angry and had not thought about that. Court documents indicate that Clayton had been adopted by Douglas Dietz and his wife in 2018. The child has been denied bail and is currently being held at Perry County Prison, a decision that has drawn attention from child welfare advocates who question the appropriateness of housing an 11-year-old in an adult detention facility.
Under Pennsylvania law, children aged 10 and older can be charged as adults in cases involving serious criminal offenses such as homicide. Clayton's defense attorney has indicated that seeking a transfer to juvenile court will be the central focus of his legal strategy, arguing that the child's age and circumstances warrant treatment within the juvenile justice system rather than the adult criminal system. Legal experts have noted that if the case remains in adult court, Clayton could face a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The case has reignited national debates on multiple fronts, including gun storage safety, the treatment of children within the criminal justice system, and the broader societal effects of screen time and gaming on young people. Gun safety advocates have pointed to the incident as a stark example of the dangers posed by firearms that are accessible to children, even when stored in safes. Child psychology experts have emphasized that an 11-year-old's brain is not fully developed and that the capacity for impulse control and understanding consequences is fundamentally different from that of an adult. The next hearing in the case has not yet been publicly scheduled.
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