Investigators in Louisiana suspect that an 8-year-old boy may have been inspired by the video game "Grand Theft Auto IV" to shoot his grandmother in the back of the head on Thursday, and he will not be charged with a crime.
CNN on Sunday reported that 87-year-old Marie Smothers had died where she lived at a mobile home park in in Slaughter, Louisiana. A statement from the East Feliciana Parish Sheriff's Department said that the woman had been the 8-year-old boy's "caregiver."
"By accounts of relatives of the victim, as well as friends of the family, the victim and the juvenile had a normal, loving, relationship and even shared the same bedroom," the statement said, according to WAFB.
At first the boy told officers that the shooting had been accidental, but then investigators came to believe that he "intentionally shot Mrs. Smothers in the back of the head as she sat in her living room watching television."
"Although a motive for the shooting is unknown at this time investigators have learned that the juvenile suspect was playing a video game on the Play Station III 'Grand Theft Auto IV', a realistic game that has been associated with encouraging violence and awards points to players for killing people, just minutes before the homicide occurred," the sheriff's office explained.
WBRZ reported that the gun belonged to Smothers.
"Where did she have the gun, where did he see the gun, was it in his eyesight?" neighbor Johnnie Scott wondered. "That's the thought that goes through my head."
Under Louisiana law, the boy will not be charged.
"Those who have not reached the age of ten years are exempt from criminal responsibility," Louisiana statute RS 14:13 says. "However, nothing in this article shall affect the jurisdiction of juvenile courts as established by the constitution and statutes of this state."
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WAFB 9 News Baton Rouge, Louisiana News, Weather, Sports
[Photo: Stock photo of depressed boy with a gun via Shutterstock.com]
