Granger boy reportedly shot dad (a state trooper), with service weapon over video games

Granger boy reportedly shot dad, a state trooper, with service weapon over video games

By Lincoln Wright
South Bend Tribune

Mar 8, 2019

Police investigate the scene of a shooting that involved an Indiana State trooper being shot in his home on Friday, Feb. 22, 2019, in Granger.

GRANGER — The 11-year-old boy charged with shooting his father, an Indiana state trooper, used his dad’s service weapon and was upset because his parents had confiscated his video games, records show.

On Feb. 22, the boy shot his father, Indiana State Police officer Matt Makowski, in the buttocks with the officer’s .45-caliber duty weapon, according to court documents. The boy got the gun from Makowski’s locked police vehicle, parked outside the family’s home on Conover Drive in Granger, the records show.

Makowski later told police he kept his weapon locked in his vehicle because he did not want his kids to have access to it.

Police arrived at the family’s home about 11 p.m. on reports of a shooting. The boy surrendered without incident and police found his mother and father in the master bedroom. Makowski was transported to the hospital, and police have said his condition is “steadily improving.”

The boy’s mother told police she and her husband were asleep when she heard a loud “gong” sound and her husband began screaming in pain. Realizing her husband had been shot, she went to look for her son and found the service weapon on the floor outside the room. As she secured the gun and called 911, she saw her son walking up the stairs with a BB gun and Makowski’s duty taser, according to court records.

She locked the bedroom door until police arrived, the records show.

The boy later told police he wanted a Play Station, an Xbox and a computer, and that he was “going to get these simple things, or there would be a Part 2,” court documents say.

The boy also said he tested the taser out on the family’s dog prior to the shooting, according to the documents. The boy told police he intended to shoot his father in the head but couldn’t do so because of the way his dad was lying in bed.

Court documents say the boy has a history of behavior problems at school. His parents had recently taken his video games and removed them from the home.

St. Joseph County prosecutors have filed a petition against the boy alleging delinquency — the juvenile equivalent of a criminal charge — for attempted murder.

Last year, St. Joseph County police logged a report indicating the boy was involved in a “possible battery” that injured an 8-year-old neighbor boy, who was treated in the emergency room at Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center. Police have not released further information on the incident.

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Another article about this senseless tragedy:

11-year-old shot trooper dad as he slept for taking video games away, court docs say

POSTED 4:50 PM, MARCH 7, 2019, BY TRIBUNE MEDIA WIRE

GRANGER, Ind. – An 11-year-old boy reportedly shot his own father – an Indiana State Police trooper – following a dispute about video games, according to court documents obtained by WSBT.

According to court documents obtained by WSBT, the state trooper’s son devised a plan to shoot his dad with his service gun while he was at school that day because he “was done with all of that” and “wanted it to end.”

The trooper said he keeps his gun locked in his car, so his kids wouldn’t have access to it. The boy allegedly said he went to his dad’s car three different times to look for the gun.

When he finally got it, he took the weapon into his parents’ room where they were sleeping. He waited “about 10 minutes” until his dad rolled over and was facing away from the door, and then he fired one shot into his backside, according to the documents.

When the trooper started screaming, his wife went to look for the boy, and she saw him going up the stairs with a gun and a Taser, the documents say.

The trooper is still recovering from the shot and is said to be steadily improving, WSBT reports.

The boy allegedly told investigators after the shooting if he didn’t get his video games, there would be “a part two,” and said he wanted to shoot his dad in the head but couldn’t because of the way he was laying down.

He also said he tested the Taser on the family’s dog before the shooting, according to authorities.

The 11-year-old is now facing charges of attempted murder in juvenile court. His next court date is set for April 10th.

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