DUNCANNON, Pa. -- An 11-year-old boy faces homicide charges after shooting and killing his father in Perry County, according to Pennsylvania State Police.
WGAL News 8 obtained court documents that reveal new details about what happened the morning of Tuesday, Jan. 13, in Duncannon Borough.
Officers responded to a home on South Market Street around 3:20 a.m. for an "unresponsive male" and found Douglas Dietz, 42, dead from a gunshot wound to the head, according to the documents.
Douglas was found in his bed in the bedroom he shares with his wife, which is connected to their son's bedroom by a closet, according to the affidavit.
After investigating, police identified Douglas' 11-year-old son, Clayton Dietz, as the suspect.
According to the court documents, Douglas' wife told police she was asleep when a loud noise woke her, and she smelled something similar to fireworks. She said she tried to nudge Douglas, but he didn't move. She then heard what she thought was water dripping, but when she turned on the light, she realized it was blood, according to the documents.
Police said Clayton then entered the bedroom and shouted, "Daddy's dead." Troopers at the scene also said they heard Clayton tell his mother, "I killed Daddy."
Officials noted that Douglas and his wife adopted Clayton in 2018.
It happened on their son's birthday, police say. According to the court documents, the couple went to bed shortly after midnight after singing happy birthday to Clayton.
Clayton told investigators that he had a good day with his parents. "When his dad told him he needed to go to bed, he got mad at him," the documents stated.
When police asked Clayton what happened, he said, "I shot somebody," according to the affidavit. "He admitted that he had someone in mind whom he was going to shoot, whom he identified as his father," the documents said.
The wife told police there was a gun safe in the bedroom, but she denied knowing where the key was kept, according to investigators.
Clayton said he found the key in his father's drawer and unlocked the safe in an attempt to find his Nintendo Switch, which was previously taken away from him, according to the documents.
Clayton admitted to "removing the gun from the safe, loading bullets into it and walking over to his father's side of the bed," the affidavit stated. "He pulled back the hammer and fired the gun at his father."
When police asked Clayton what he thought would happen when he fired the gun, he said that "he was mad, and he had not thought about that," investigators stated.
According to state police, Clayton was taken into custody and charged with criminal homicide.
Clayton was denied bail and is being held at the Perry County Prison, where a hearing is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 22.
WGAL News 8 Reporter AJ Sisson spoke to a neighbor who expressed shock, saying they didn't expect something like this to happen in their community.
"They're very kind. I mean, I didn't talk to them much. They, you know, kept to themselves over there and just seemed pretty nice. I didn't expect this," said Jesse Weldon, lifelong Duncannon resident.
Weldon lives just down the road and was outside during the Pennsylvania State Police's investigation, but barely knew the people inside. Neighbors who spoke off-camera say this street used to be a tight-knit community, but not many know each other nowadays.
"Have you ever seen something like this here in the area?" asked Sisson.
"Not really. Not this close. I mean, you hear about it, like, not like right next door to people, you know?" said Weldon. "I remember the 90s when stuff was just transitioning, technology, and from now back to then, so much has changed."
The Susquenita School District in Perry County released a statement late on Wednesday afternoon, expressing sympathy to the community following the shooting.
"We recognize that in a close-knit community such as ours, events like this can affect our students. Our school counselors and psychologists are available to provide support to any students in need."
(The-CNN-Wire & 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.)
[ARTICLE/ARCHIVE]
WGAL News 8 obtained court documents that reveal new details about what happened the morning of Tuesday, Jan. 13, in Duncannon Borough.
Officers responded to a home on South Market Street around 3:20 a.m. for an "unresponsive male" and found Douglas Dietz, 42, dead from a gunshot wound to the head, according to the documents.
Douglas was found in his bed in the bedroom he shares with his wife, which is connected to their son's bedroom by a closet, according to the affidavit.
After investigating, police identified Douglas' 11-year-old son, Clayton Dietz, as the suspect.
According to the court documents, Douglas' wife told police she was asleep when a loud noise woke her, and she smelled something similar to fireworks. She said she tried to nudge Douglas, but he didn't move. She then heard what she thought was water dripping, but when she turned on the light, she realized it was blood, according to the documents.
Police said Clayton then entered the bedroom and shouted, "Daddy's dead." Troopers at the scene also said they heard Clayton tell his mother, "I killed Daddy."
Officials noted that Douglas and his wife adopted Clayton in 2018.
It happened on their son's birthday, police say. According to the court documents, the couple went to bed shortly after midnight after singing happy birthday to Clayton.
Clayton told investigators that he had a good day with his parents. "When his dad told him he needed to go to bed, he got mad at him," the documents stated.
When police asked Clayton what happened, he said, "I shot somebody," according to the affidavit. "He admitted that he had someone in mind whom he was going to shoot, whom he identified as his father," the documents said.
The wife told police there was a gun safe in the bedroom, but she denied knowing where the key was kept, according to investigators.
Clayton said he found the key in his father's drawer and unlocked the safe in an attempt to find his Nintendo Switch, which was previously taken away from him, according to the documents.
Clayton admitted to "removing the gun from the safe, loading bullets into it and walking over to his father's side of the bed," the affidavit stated. "He pulled back the hammer and fired the gun at his father."
When police asked Clayton what he thought would happen when he fired the gun, he said that "he was mad, and he had not thought about that," investigators stated.
According to state police, Clayton was taken into custody and charged with criminal homicide.
Clayton was denied bail and is being held at the Perry County Prison, where a hearing is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 22.
WGAL News 8 Reporter AJ Sisson spoke to a neighbor who expressed shock, saying they didn't expect something like this to happen in their community.
"They're very kind. I mean, I didn't talk to them much. They, you know, kept to themselves over there and just seemed pretty nice. I didn't expect this," said Jesse Weldon, lifelong Duncannon resident.
Weldon lives just down the road and was outside during the Pennsylvania State Police's investigation, but barely knew the people inside. Neighbors who spoke off-camera say this street used to be a tight-knit community, but not many know each other nowadays.
"Have you ever seen something like this here in the area?" asked Sisson.
"Not really. Not this close. I mean, you hear about it, like, not like right next door to people, you know?" said Weldon. "I remember the 90s when stuff was just transitioning, technology, and from now back to then, so much has changed."
The Susquenita School District in Perry County released a statement late on Wednesday afternoon, expressing sympathy to the community following the shooting.
"We recognize that in a close-knit community such as ours, events like this can affect our students. Our school counselors and psychologists are available to provide support to any students in need."
(The-CNN-Wire & 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.)
[ARTICLE/ARCHIVE]
