SWAN LAKE, Idaho -- A shocking case is being investigated right now in eastern Idaho -- a 12-year-old boy is suspected of shooting and killing his father Friday night.
The Bannock County Sheriff isn't releasing many details at this point. He said this is a sensitive and complicated case, especially since they're dealing with a minor suspect.
What we do know is that around 11 p.m. Friday, someone called 911 about a shooting death in Swan Lake.
Deputies found the body of 46-year-old Paul Danielson. He was shot and killed inside the family's home.
They interviewed Danielson's 12-year-old son at the sheriff's office and during that interview, they took the boy into custody.
'We are still very early in the investigation of this," said Bannock County Sheriff Lorin Nielsen. "Obviously because of the nature of this, we're handling this extremely sensitive but also extremely thorough. Right now, due to the nature of the suspect, there isn't a whole lot of details we can go into on him."
Police accuse the 12-year-old of killing his father. For now, the boy is being held at the county juvenile detention center.
"He is being held on a homicide charge," said Bannock County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Vic Pearson. "However, since we are so early in the investigation, we need to get to a few more of the facts before we determine what charges exactly are going to be appropriate. However, we are holding him in custody based upon the initial investigation our sheriff's detectives have completed."
The sheriff said they have the weapon, but won't say what type of gun was used.
Another big question that the sheriff said he can't answer is why this happened or what the boy's motive might have been.
Nielsen said they expect autopsy results back by Monday and formal charges are likely to come on Tuesday.
The prosecutor's office will decide whether to charge the 12-year-old as an adult.
KTVB and KTVB.COM will be bringing you more details as this investigation continues.
