8-year-old intentionally kills his grandmother

Investigators believe an 8-year-old boy intentionally shot and killed his 90-year-old grandmother on Thursday evening after playing a violent video game.

The woman, Marie Smothers, was pronounced dead at the scene with a gunshot wound to the head in a mobile home park in Slaughter, Louisiana, the East Feliciana Parish Sheriff's Office said in a statement. Slaughter is about 20 miles north of Baton Rouge.

The boy initially told investigators he accidentally shot his grandmother while playing with a gun, but after further investigation officials determined it was a homicide.

The boy won't face charges. Under Louisiana law, a child under 10 is exempt from criminal responsibility.

Before the incident Smothers had been watching TV in the living room while the boy played a video game in which players shoot people.

"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,"
CNN