Take-Two says blaming games for violence "sidesteps the real issues"

Grand Theft Auto parent publisher Take-Two Interactive spoken out to defend games after a Louisiana sheriff's department said Grand Theft Auto may have played a role in a recent killing.

"Ascribing a connection to entertainment--a theory that has been disproven repeatedly by multiple independent studies--both minimizes this moment and sidesteps the real issues at hand," Take-Two said in a statement to CNN.

The statement came in response to the ongoing investigation into the death of an 87-year-old Louisiana woman, who was shot and killed by an 8-year old, according to authorities.

The sheriff's department has not named a motive for the attack, but suggested that the boy's virtual actions inside Grand Theft Auto IV may have poured over in the real world.

"Although a motive for the shooting is unknown at this time, investigators have learned that the juvenile suspect was playing a video game on the Play Station III--Grand Theft Auto IV--a realistic game that has been associated with encouraging violence and awards points to players for killing people, just minutes before the homicide occurred," the department said.

The boy will not face charges, because under Louisiana law, a child under 10 is exempt from criminal responsibility, according to CNN.

In January, president Barack Obama ordered more research to be done to investigate the relationship between video games and real-world violence.