Authorities in Arizona have brought charges against a 72-year-old woman who allegedly shot and injured her 38-year-old son because he was playing video games too loudly.
Per 12 News, the Mesa Police Department said the May 17 incident happened at a home close to Higley Road and Main Street around 8:50 p.m. The elderly woman, identified as Hazel Benson, is said to have struck her son in the abdomen after firing at him. Police said the victim sustained non-life threatening injuries.
Court documents stated that in the aftermath of the incident, Benson told responding officers that she had opened fire on her son and subsequently disposed of the weapon in a canal. She also said that she was unaware if her son had been struck after she opened fire, adding that the victim had gone to their home’s back door. The victim was outside the home when officers found him, and he had sustained a gunshot wound to the stomach at the time.
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Before opening fire on her son, a call for service was made from the home, and officers learned that Benson had gotten angry over her son playing video games too loudly. The victim is said to have subsequently taken a stroll to “calm down,” and officers also notified Benson that her son had “legal standing” at the residence, per 12 News.
Benson told officers that she prevented her son from entering the house when he returned. She also said that her son charged at her with “his hands in fists at his waistline,” adding that she then opened fire, though she could not tell if the victim was struck. The 72-year-old later called 911 after the victim started hitting the back door when he came to the house again.
Benson has since been charged with aggravated assault, disorderly conduct and discharge of a firearm within city limits.
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