A teenage boy has shot and killed his mother, brother and two sisters after becoming "addicted" to a video game.
Zain Ali, 14, from Lahore, Pakistan, was arrested after the bodies of his relatives were found by a maid.
Police have claimed the teenager suffered "psychological issues" as a result of playing an online game - PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds.
The video game involves players parachuting onto an island and scavenging for weapons to kill others while avoiding getting killed themselves.
According to police officers, the boy went to get hold of his mother's pistol after failing to accomplish a mission in the game.
He then shot his mother, 45-year-old Nahid Mubarak, followed by his sister Mahnoor Fatima, 14, who came from another room after hearing the gunshot.
Later, he killed another sister Jannat, 10, and his older brother, Taimur, 22, all in their family home in the Kahna area of the city.
The boy then reportedly left the house to throw the gun in a drain, before returning to pretend to be asleep.
Police arrested him after finding bloodstains on his clothes and blood trails leading to the upper storey of the building, where he had been sleeping.
They said he later confessed to killing his family in a fit of rage and he believed they would be alive again once his task was completed.
A statement from police said: "The PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) addict boy confessed to killing his mother and siblings under the influence of the game.
“He has developed some psychological issues because of spending long hours of the day playing the online game."
Police also said that before the killings, his mother had raised concerns with him about how much he was playing the game.
The statement added: "On the day of the incident, Nahid scolded the boy over the matter.
"Later, the boy took out her mother’s pistol from a cupboard and shot her and his three other siblings.
“Next morning, the boy raised an alarm and the neighbours called the police.
"The boy at that time told police that he was on the upper floor of the house and did not know how his family was killed."
Police official SSP investigations Imran Kishwar also said the boy appeared to have thought the game was real life.
The teenager had reported the murder of his family members himself, but officers found contradictions in his statement during interrogation.
Their suspicions were confirmed when they found blood trails inside the house.
"The important question was why he had murdered his mother and siblings which led us to him being an addict to PUBG game,” the police statement read.
It is the fourth crime related to online games in the city since 2020.
Three other people have died by suicide with video games reportedly playing a part in their deaths, leading to calls for a ban.
The Mirror has contacted PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds for comment.
