A 10-year-old boy from Wisconsin in the United States shot his mother in the face after she refused to buy him a virtual reality headset.
The child, who appeared remorseless at what he had done, used his mothers Amazon account to purchase the gaming set the next day.
According to the New York Post, the boy, who cannot be named due to being a minor, initially disclosed to the police that he had procured the gun from his mother’s bedroom on the morning of the incident.
He then said that he took the gun to the basement where his mom was doing the laundry. As per the boy’s confession, he was playing with the gun when it fired and hit the mother.
The 10-year-old immediately informed his elder sister, 26, who called the police.
According to a complaint report obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the boy’s relatives found his version of events to be suspicious and contacted the authorities.
He later admitted to killing his mother intentionally by aiming the gun at her.
The New York Post reported that the boy’s aunt picked him up the next day following the incident. To her surprise, she found that he had access to the keys to the container that housed the gun.
Upon questioning the child, he confessed to the murder.
“I’m really sorry for what happened. I’m sorry for killing my mom,” the boy was reported saying to his aunt, with a straight face.
One of the boy’s relatives told the media that he was mentally unstable, and claimed that he would often speak of hearing imaginary voices.
Relatives also shared with the investigators that when the boy was 4 years old, he swung a pet puppy around by its tail like a doll; and that six months ago, he filled a balloon with flammable liquid and set it alight, causing an explosion which burnt carpets and furniture.
Fox News further reported that under Wisconsin state law, children as young as 10 can be charged as adults for certain serious crimes, “though the boy’s attorneys can seek to move the case to juvenile court”.