38-year-old son’s video game volume leads to mom shooting him, AZ officials say

A 72-year-old mom accused of shooting her son has been arrested, Arizona officials said.

On May 17, Mesa officers responded to a home and found Hazel Benson’s 38-year-old son shot in the stomach before he was sent to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries, police told KTAR News.

Benson told officers she was angry with her son over his video games being too loud, police told KSAZ.

That’s when her son went for a walk to “calm down,” but when he returned, his mom wouldn’t let him back inside, police told KPNX.

Then he “lunged at her with raised fists,” and she shot him, police told KSAZ.

She was unsure if she had shot him but threw the gun in a canal before calling 911 when he began “pounding” on the home’s back door, police told KPNX.

She was arrested and charged with aggravated assault, disorderly conduct with a deadly weapon, and discharging a firearm within city limits, police told KTAR News.

Mesa is about a 20-mile drive southeast from Phoenix.

This story was originally published May 19, 2025 at 12:52 PM with the headline "38-year-old son’s video game volume leads to mom shooting him, AZ officials say."