US: Ten-year-old boy murders mother for not buying VR headset
3 Min Read
Evidence suggests that a 10-year-old kid may have killed his mom on purpose because she refused to buy him a VR headset.
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Oculus Quest 2 headset. (Boumen Japet/Alamy)
On November 21, a 10-year-old kid allegedly shot and killed his mother in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. New evidence suggests he may have done it on purpose because she refused to buy him a virtual reality headset.
Initially, the youngster claimed he took the rifle from his mother's bedroom and went downstairs to do laundry. He allegedly shot the rifle while twisting it in his hands. A police release at the time reminded people to "keep weapons secured with a gunlock and out of the reach of youngsters."
Because of his age, police permitted the youngster to stay with his family; nevertheless, a day later, relatives called the cops.
According to the minor's aunt, he told her he had hidden a set of house keys, including the one that opened the lock box with a firearm. When his aunt questioned him about the shooting, he claimed he pointed the gun at his mother, who then asked, "Why do you have that? Put that down."
On November 22, the youngster entered into his mother's Amazon account and ordered an Oculus Virtual Reality Headset, according to the relative. That same morning, the boy assaulted his 7-year-old cousin and had to be dragged away from the child. The boy was then driven to his grandmother's house by his aunt to meet with child protection personnel.
Milwaukee police interrogated the boy again once this information was released. He informed investigators that he aimed the gun at his mother with both hands while in a firing posture. He intended to "scare her" by shooting a wall, but she walked in front of him, and he shot her.
The child informed authorities that he retrieved the gun from the lockbox because his mother woke him up 30 minutes earlier than normal — at 6 a.m — and wouldn't allow him to buy anything on Amazon.
“This is an absolute family tragedy,” said Angela Cunningham.
“I don’t think anybody would deny or disagree with that ... The adult system is absolutely ill-equipped to address the needs of a 10-year-old child,” the attorney added.
The youngster is being held in juvenile custody after being charged as an adult with first-degree reckless homicide. According to state law, minors as young as 10 can be charged as adults for certain crimes. However, the matter could be transferred to juvenile court.
The youngster's aunt informed police that he had a history of unusual behavior, including swinging the family's puppy by the tail until it howled in pain (the boy was four at the time) and more recently filling a balloon with flammable liquid and setting it on fire at home.
When asked why he would do something like that, he stated that his "two sisters told him to do it," according to relatives' memories of the scenario. When pressed further, the youngster claimed to hear five different, fictitious individuals speaking to him: two sisters, one older woman, one man, and a second man whom he described as "nasty."
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