An 11-year-old boy is reported to have said three chilling words after allegedly shooting his father dead for confiscating his Nintendo games console. Douglas Dietz, 42, was found with a gunshot wound to his head at the family home in Duncannon Borough, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday (January 13). His son, Clayton, is now facing homicide charges in the US state.

Court documents show Douglas’s wife heard a loud bang in a bedroom and smelt “something similar to fireworks” before the youngster entered the room, shouting: “Daddy’s dead.” State police who visited the home reported hearing Clayton telling his mother: “I killed Daddy”.

Clayton, who had been celebrating his 11th birthday, is alleged to have flown into a rage after his father confiscated his Nintendo Switch a few days earlier.

According to the court documents, his wife Jillian had been lying beside Mr Dietz in bed and only understood what had happened when she switched on the lights to discover his blood soaking through the bedding, the Mirror reports.

Clayton then entered the room and started shouting as Jillian made frantic attempts to save her husband while waiting for the emergency services. He was declared dead at the scene by paramedics.

During questioning, Jillian told police the couple – who adopted Clayton in 2018 – sang Happy Birthday to him the previous evening, but tensions escalated when they told him he needed to go to bed.

The father is reported to have stored the family’s firearm in a locked drawer, as per the court documents, and Clayton confessed to police he found the key and unlocked it while searching for his Nintendo Switch.

Clayton admitted “removing the gun from the safe, loading bullets into it and walking over to his father’s side of the bed”, according to the documents. He then removed the safety catch and allegedly shot at him.

The 11 year old is alleged to have told police officers he “had not thought about” the consequences of shooting his father.

He was arrested on the day of the fatal shooting and charged with criminal homicide. A preliminary court hearing has been scheduled for January 22.

Local media reported Clayton’s parents had sent letters to his school in the months leading up to the incident, pleading for help for their son.

Clayton has autism and was reportedly displaying increasingly uncontrollable behaviour, including sexual harassment, physical aggression and theft.

It is said the parents’ requests were denied because Clayton “did not meet the criteria”. A neighbour speaking to 6ABC described the Dietz family as “very kind” and that they “kept to themselves”, adding: “I didn’t expect this.”

A day after the shooting, Susquenita School District in Perry County issued a statement which read: “We recognise that in a close-knit community such as ours, events like this can affect our students. Our school counsellors and psychologists are available to provide support to any students in need.”