Jeremy Hogan via Getty Images
A 10-year-old Wisconsin boy has been charged as an adult after he told police he fatally shot his mother when she refused to buy him a virtual reality headset on Amazon, authorities said.
He also said he was angry because she woke him up a half-hour earlier than his usual time the day of the shooting in the family’s Milwaukee home on Nov. 21.
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The day after his mother’s death, he logged on to her Amazon account to buy the headset online, according to the criminal complaint against him, which was obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The boy reportedly apologized for killing his mom, but officials said he appeared to show no real remorse.
He admitted that he shot his 44-year-old mother “in the face when she was approximately three feet away,” the complaint said, according to NBC News. He then woke up his sister to tell her what had happened.
The boy initially claimed the gun had accidentally discharged as he was twirling it around, police said.
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His sister told authorities that her brother had “rage issues” all of his life and had “five different imaginary people that talk to him,” according to the criminal complaint.
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When he was 4 years old he would spin the family’s puppy around in the air by its tail as it whined and howled in pain, the complaint stated.
A therapist recently gave the boy a “concerning diagnosis,” according to the complaint. The mother subsequently placed cameras inside the home to track his behavior. Two weeks before the mother’s death, “someone had unplugged these cameras,” the complaint said.
The boy “admitted to knowing that guns are dangerous and can kill people,” police said.
The day after the shooting when he saw his grandmother crying, the boy “stated without any empathy or compassion: ‘I’m really sorry for what happened. I’m sorry for killing my mom,’” according to the complaint.
After he apologized, “he then asked if his Amazon package arrived,” the complaint said.
The boy has been charged with first-degree reckless homicide. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 60 years in prison.
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