9-Year-Old Accused of Killing Dad With Hatchet Allegedly Obsessed With Violent Video Games

A 9-year-old boy in Utah allegedly brutally attacked and killed his father in their Tooele home. Police arrived at the family’s home on February 16 and found a 32-year-old man bleeding from an apparent gunshot wound. The investigation led police to the young child as their prime suspect.

A newly released arrest record gives details about what police found at the scene and the child’s alleged obsession with violence.

There were several witnesses at the home the night of the attack.

Per the arrest record obtained by Fox 13, the accused killer lived at the home at 380 W. Millcreek Way with his father and two adult roommates, who were present at the time of the attack. There were also four children younger than 11 at the home the night the man died.

According to the report, the boy and his father retreated to a bedroom to go to bed early because the boy was exhibiting "behavior problems."

A short time later, the child reportedly came out of the bedroom.

“The victim’s son later emerged from the room and said that his dad was bleeding from the head and was dead,” per the arrest warrant.

When emergency responders arrived, they apparently thought it was a suicide attempt, but after further investigation they found cuts on the man’s face and hands that appeared to be defense wounds, Fox 13 reported.

Talk to moms about mom stuff. And make money doing it.

The child allegedly had multiple weapons.

Investigators reportedly found a handgun in the bedroom along with a bullet and shell casings and a tomahawk-style hatchet covered in blood under the bed, the report stated. Police issued a search warrant and seized the child’s tablet and the cellphone he used regularly.

The child reportedly had a penchant for violent video games.

The child allegedly played video games that were “particularly violent in nature” and seemingly not age-appropriate, according to court documents obtained by Fox 13.

“Occupants of the home describe the suspect as spending a lot of time on these devices, consuming content, watching videos and playing video games,” a warrant read. “There have been instances where the suspect has viewed videos that were deemed not age-appropriate and shared details of these videos with other children in the home, resulting in discipline.”

His father was taken to a nearby hospital and died from his injuries the following day. The boy was arrested, but his name was not released. Charges have not been disclosed, and the investigation is ongoing.

Some studies link violence in video games to violent behavior.

According to a report from the University of Michigan Youth Violence Prevention Center, there is a potential link between violent behavior and violence in video games.

“Despite disagreements on the exact nature of the relationship between violent video game playing and violent or aggressive behavior, significant evidence exists linking video game playing with violent behavior and its correlates. Although we are somewhat agnostic about the role of social controls like laws banning the sale of violent video games to minors, an argument against such social controls based on the conclusion that the video games have no effect seems to oversimplify the issue," the report states. “A more in-depth and critical analysis of the issue from multiple perspectives may both help more completely understand the causes and correlates of youth violence, and provide us with some direction for creative solutions to this persistent social problem.”