Crimes involving juveniles and guns continue to rise. Even in homes where parents keep firearms locked in safes, shootings can occur. Douglas and Jillian Dietz went to sleep on January 13, 2026, after celebrating their son Clayton’s 11th birthday. Everything seemed fine until just after 3 a.m. when Jillian Dietz heard a loud noise and smelled something in her bedroom. She tried to awaken her husband for help, but he didn’t respond. Police claim Clayton shot his father in the head while he slept because he took away his Nintendo Switch. Now the 11-year-old is facing homicide charges.
After Jillian Dietz awoke, she thought she heard water dripping, according to court documents obtained by WGAL. She quickly realized the sound was Douglas Dietz’s blood coming from a gunshot wound. When she looked up, Clayton allegedly told her, “Daddy’s dead.” Police arrived at the couple’s Duncannon, Pennsylvania, home around 3:30 a.m. They found the 42-year-old father unresponsive with a gunshot wound to the head.
Jillian Dietz told police they had a gun in the house inside a safe, but she did not know where her husband kept the key. When investigators spoke to Clayton, he reportedly told them he shot his father because he was “mad,” WGAL reported. The 11-year-old told police his father took away his Nintendo Switch, and he went looking for it in the middle of the night. Clayton reportedly told police he found the key to the safe and then the gun, loaded it, and shot his father.
When officers asked the child what he thought was going to happen when he pulled the trigger, he said “he was mad, and he had not thought about that.”
The news shocked the community. “They’re very kind. I mean, I didn’t talk to them much,” neighbor Jesse Weldon told WGAL. “They, you know, kept to themselves over there and just seemed pretty nice. I didn’t expect this.”
Adam Garber with Ceasefire PA told WHTM that parents must be vigilant about gun safety, particularly around young children.
“Parents need to understand that securing their firearm not only means using the safe, but it means ensuring that only people who should have access to that firearm can access it, whether it’s using a biometric code or making sure that the key is not easily discoverable,” Garber said.
Friends of the Dietz family created a GiveSendGo for Jillian Dietz. “She is facing the sudden loss of her husband and is now carrying the overwhelming weight of navigating life, grief, and healing in the midst of circumstances no words can adequately describe,” the fundraiser reads. “Right now, she needs space to grieve, to breathe, and to simply survive one moment at a time—without the added burden of financial stress.”
Police arrested Clayton and took him to Perry County Prison. Prosecutors charged him with criminal homicide, and a judge denied his bail. He’s due back in court on January 22.
What a tragedy. A woman loses her husband and her son in a matter of minutes. Clearly, this child needs some kind of help. Hopefully, the courts can guide him while holding him accountable, and the family can begin to heal.
