Boy, 8, shoots 90-year-old woman dead

SLAUGHTER, LA. — Authorities in Louisiana said Friday that an eight-year-old boy intentionally shot and killed a 90-year-old woman who was his caregiver after playing a video game with violent themes.

East Feliciana Parish sheriff’s deputies said the juvenile was playing the video game Grand Theft Auto IV — a realistic game that’s been associated with encouraging violence — just minutes before the fatal shooting, which happened shortly after 5 p.m. Thursday.

Sgt. Kevin Garig told local media that the identities of both the shooter and the victim are being withheld.

Reports say the sheriff’s office said that although the child told investigators that he accidentally shot the woman while playing with a firearm, evidence has led investigators to believe the child intentionally shot her in the back of the head while she was watching TV.

Louisiana law prohibits authorities from charging the child with a crime because of his age.