A Massachusetts man has been taken into custody, accused of attacking his elderly parents and setting their home on fire, leaving them to perish inside, officials have reported.

The Berkshire District Attorney’s Office has charged 44-year-old Darius Hazard with murder and arson following the tragic deaths of his parents, Venture, aged 76, and Donald, aged 83. The couple was discovered dead in the living room of their North Adams home, which was engulfed in flames on Monday.

Authorities stated that Hazard admitted to assaulting his parents, dousing the floor with gasoline, and igniting the fire before fleeing the scene, abandoning them in the burning house.

Firefighters arrived at approximately 7 a.m. on Monday to find both parents deceased in their residence. The medical examiner concluded that smoke inhalation was the cause of death.

Darius Hazard faces charges of murder and arson. (Image courtesy of North Adams Police Department)

Police later took Hazard into custody at a Walmart parking lot. Officers frisked him, and he said he had a knife in his car. He said he had attempted to stab himself, and he had injuries to his thigh and chest.

Prosecutors said Hazard told the officers he became “really, really angry” while he and his father were helping his mother, who had difficulty walking and suffered from advanced arthritis and scoliosis, after she fell around 3 a.m., court documents show, according to WNYT.

“I guess I snapped,” he said.

Darius Hazard confessed to physically assaulting his parents inside their home, pouring gasoline on the floor and setting the house on fire. (North Adams Police Department)

Hazard was yelling at them and hitting them repeatedly, the outlet reported. His father told him to stop, which he eventually did. He then shoved both parents to the floor and struck them with various objects, as well as his fist. He even threw a fan at his father.

He poured gasoline on the floor upstairs and in the living room, set a match and drove away.

His parents were injured, but alive when he left. He told police they were yelling “come back” and “help me, help us, we are in trouble” as he left the home.

Darius Hazard told officers he became “really, really angry” while he and his father were helping his mother after she fell around 3 a.m. (North Adams Police Department)

Hazard said he knew he should not have lost his cool like this. He said he had lost his temper in the past and yelled or broken things, but this was the first time he assaulted his parents.

He has pleaded not guilty and remains held without bail at Berkshire County House of Correction, News 10 reported.