Boy, 8, shoots 87-year-old grandmother dead 'after playing Grand Theft Auto and tries to claim it was an accident'

An 8-year-old boy allegedly shot dead his elderly caregiver with her own gun after playing violent video game

He can't be charged because of his age

An eight-year-old boy who allegedly shot dead his 87-year-old caregiver with her own gun had played a violent video game that awards points for killing people just minutes earlier.



The boy, who has not been identified, was playing Grand Theft Auto IV before shooting relative Marie Smothers in the back of the head as she watched television in her Louisiana mobile home on Thursday night.



The boy won't be charged for shooting Smothers, pronounced dead at the scene, because of his age.



Shocking: Marie Smothers, 87, was shot dead with her own gun by an eight-year-old boy at her Louisiana mobile home, pictured

Gun crime: The eight-year-old boy was playing the violent video game Grand Theft Auto IV before he shot his grandmother in the back of the head

Authorities are calling the shooting a homicide, and an autopsy was undertaken last night.

While the boy told investigators he accidentally shot the woman while playing with a firearm,

WAFB-TV reports there is evidence showing he intentionally shot her.

The Colt .38-caliber Detective Special revolver he used belonged to Smothers , who lived in the Country Breeze Mobile Home Park near Slaughter, but it's not clear where she kept it, The Advocate reports.



He is now in the care of his parents, from East Baton Rouge Parish.

They have been ordered to appear in 20th Judicial District Court on Monday, The Advocate reports.

File photo: This is a Colt .38-caliber Detective Special revolver - like the gun detectives believe an eight-year-old boy used to kill his elderly caregiver

Smothers and the boy are related and were the only ones in the mobile home at the time of the shooting.

Officers said the television set was turned off when police arrived, but the video game console was still on with a copy of Grand Theft Auto IV in it



The game: The Grand Theft Auto video games are notoriously violent and involve both maneuvering cars and shooting

Just before shooting his grandmother, the boy was playing Grand Theft Auto IV. The story for the game revolves around a war veteran from Eastern Europe who comes to the U.S. and gets swept up in gangs, crime and corruption



Too young: The video game is rate M for mature which means it's suggested for players 17 and up

The boy lived with Smothers so he could enroll in an East Feliciana Parish school, according to

The Advocate . Family members insist the shooting was 'an accident'.

Trailer park owner Gerald Methvin was surprised to hear about the shooting.



'It's a shock to me just as much as anyone else because everything has been so peaceful, Mrs Smothers was a fine tenant, never give us no trouble, called all the time,' Mr Methvin told WBRZ .

But a neighbor raised questions about the boy's access to a gun.



'Where did she have the gun, where did he see the gun, was it in his eyesight? That's the thought that goes through my head," Johnnie Scott said.



Sergeant Kevin Garig said the boy came from a stable family.



'From accounts of relatives of the victim, as well as friends of the family, the victim and the juvenile had a normal, loving, relationship and even shared the same bedroom,' he said.



Louisiana law prohibits authorities from charging the child with a crime because of his age, the sheriff's office said.



The law states: 'Those who have not reached the age of 10 years are exempt from criminal responsibility. However, nothing in this article shall affect the jurisdiction of juvenile courts as established by the constitution and statutes of this state.'

