CLINTON, La. (AP) — Authorities say the 8-year-old boy suspected of fatally shooting his caregiver is believed to have been playing a video game minutes before he got a gun and fired it into the back of her head.
Detective Don McKey of the East Feliciana Parish Sheriff’s Office tells The Advocate investigators cannot say for certain that the video game triggered the boy’s violent action but they are pursuing that line of inquiry.
McKey says 87-year-old Marie Smothers was killed by a single shot from a Colt .38-caliber revolver detectives believe belonged to Smothers.
McKey said the sheriff’s office is classifying Smothers’ death as a homicide, but the final determination will be made by the parish coroner and district attorney.
District Attorney Sam D’Aquilla said the boy cannot be prosecuted criminally because of his age.
