By Bradford Betz | Fox News
A 28-year-old man has been arrested in Northern California on suspicion of fatally shooting his mother, whom authorities said he blamed for breaking his video-game headset.
Matthew Nicholson of Ceres – a town about 96 miles east of San Francisco – was arrested Thursday night on suspicion of murder, the Modesto Bee reported.
Police responded to a call just before 10 p.m. that a woman had been allegedly shot inside a home.
Officers found Nicholson’s 68-year-old mother, Lydia Nicholson, inside with a head wound. She was rushed to a hospital, where she later died of her injuries.
According to a police report, Lydia Nicholson went to check on her son in his bedroom after he became upset while playing video games and began shouting.
Police say Nicholson argued with his mother, broke his video game headset, then blamed her.
He then allegedly grabbed a gun, fired two shots into a wall, then shot his mother before his 81-year-old father wrestled away the weapon.
Nicholson drove off to a relative’s home but was stopped in the town of Riverbank, just north of Ceres.
Nicholson was being held in Stanislaus County Jail with no bond. It was unclear whether he has an attorney.
Man fatally shoots 68-year-old mother in the head over broken video game headset
BY JESSICA CHIA
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Saturday, January 13, 2018, 4:53 AM
A man was arrested for fatally shooting his 68-year-old mother after he threatened to kill both his parents over a broken video game headset, police said.
Matthew Nicholson, 28, was playing video games in the bedroom of his Ceres, Calif., home on Wednesday night when an argument broke out with his mother Lydia Nicholson.
Nicholson shot his mother in the head and fled to a relative’s home before he was later arrested during a traffic stop, police said.
The 28-year-old started yelling while he was playing video games in his bedroom on Wednesday night, police said.
When the mother went to check on him, Matthew Nicholson argued with her and broke his own headset.
Matthew Nicholson then blamed his mom and threatened to kill both his parents before he grabbed a handgun in the home, police said.
He shot his mother in the head before his 81-year-old father Loren Nicholson wrestled the gun out of his hands, according to police.
A family friend told Fox40, “I understand that he would’ve killed the father too, but the gun jammed. The father grabbed the gun, emptied it.”
While Loren Nicholson called police at around 9:48 p.m., his son fled the scene and drove to his sister’s home in Riverbank, the local news station reported.
Matthew Nicholson was later pulled over during a traffic stop and arrested without incident.
Lydia Nicholson was taken to the hospital where she died.
Matthew Nicholson’s sister Autumn White paid tribute to their mother and wrote, “I will forever love you, my best friend, my chosen one, my always, my forever my protector, my motivation, my blessing, and now my guardian angel.”
“My heart is shattered and I promise your memory will forever live on in me, Dad, Cameron and Chris. You’ve earned your wings, fly and be free,” she added.
Liz Woolley