10-Year-Old Ohio Boy Suspected of Killing His Mother

Investigators in north central Ohio have taken a 10-year-old boy into custody for suspicion of killing his mother with a .22 caliber rifle, police said.

According to the Holmes County Sheriff's Office, a police dispatcher received an emergency call about 6 p.m. Sunday. The caller told police that a neighbor boy had come to the caller's home and said he just shot his mother, a police press release said.

Police and emergency medical responders were sent to the boy's home on Route 511 in Big Prairie, an unincorporated community about 75 miles south of Cleveland. When they arrived on the scene, they discovered the victim, 46-year-old Deborah L. McVay, face-down inside the home. McVay had been shot once in the head and was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

The 10-year-old boy, who is not being identified because of his age, was taken into custody and transported to the Richland County Juvenile Detention Center in Mansfield. The victim's body is being examined by the Stark County Coroner's Office.

The victim's 15-year-old daughter has been placed in the care of relatives, police said. Her whereabouts at the time of the shooting remain unclear.

According to Cleveland's WEWS-TV Channel 5 News, the 10-year-old boy is scheduled to appear in Holmes County Juvenile Court today.

Contacted by AOL News, the Holmes County Sheriff's Office said the investigation is ongoing and they had no additional information to release on the case.