Boy shot dad to save mom

Photo: Contributed - gunspics.com

An Alberta judge has found a boy not guilty of second-degree murder after he fatally shot his abusive father to prevent the death of his mother.

The boy, known as H, was only 13 when he shot his father twice with a rifle on August 2013 near a remote community in northern Alberta.

Court heard the boy's home life was horrific and that his father was a drunk who ridiculed, demeaned and abused his wife and children.

The Crown argued that the amount of force the boy used was disproportionate to the danger his father presented.

Tests on the man's body determined he had a blood-alcohol level more than three times over the legal limit.

In written reasons for a decision delivered last month, Justice Paul Jeffrey of Court of Queen's Bench says the boy acted to protect his mother and did not intend to kill his father.