9-year-old accused of copying Warzone by killing dad with gun & hatchet

New details from the recent arrest of a 9-year-old boy who allegedly murdered his father claim that the child was imitating Call of Duty: Warzone.

Details regarding the death of a man in Utah have emerged following the acquisition of arrest warrants from Fox 13 News.

The incident which originally occurred on February 19, 2024, saw emergency services called to the scene of a suspected suicide. Following a brief onsite investigation, a 9-year-old boy was arrested for the suspected murder of his own father.

Details within the newly unearthed documents claim that the boy may have been inspired by Call of Duty: Warzone. Primarily because of the weapons used in the alleged murder. A handgun and a tomahawk-style hatchet.

Police have said that the victim, a 32-year-old man, and his son had gone to bed early in a shared room of their eight-person household. Later the victim’s son came out of the room and informed the others who lived there that his father was bleeding.

According to reports from the scene, the victim, “was found to have been shot in the back of the head and had lacerations to his head, face, hands, and arms”. Those arrest warrants indicated that the lacerations were “defensive wounds”.

Responders to the incident found a discharged handgun and the hatchet covered in blood. In the arrest warrant, law enforcement officers suggested that the boy had “behavioral issues” and frequently viewed video content and played video games that were not age-appropriate.

Chief among the games mentioned was Call of Duty: Warzone which the arrest warrant says “incorporate(s) the same weapons in gameplay that were found and used in the assault, a 9mm Glock-type handgun and a tomahawk”.

The arrest warrant states that information housed on the boy’s smartphone and tablet will be used to indicate “how and/or why these specific methods and weapons were used in the homicide”.

Dexerto has declined to mention the names of the victim and alleged perpetrator owing to the young age of the accused.