Xbox Live Gamer Helps Thwart School Shooting
One Xbox Live user could be responsible for averting a school shooting.
The Vancouver Sun reports that a British Columbian gamer alerted police when a Texan he was playing with over Xbox Live started talking about shooting up his school.
Last Thursday, a Port Alberni, B.C. resident was playing games on XBL and chatting with a stranger from Texas. The Texan said he was a high school senior and detailed that his grades were slipping. RCMP say the teenager then said he was going to take part in a shooting at his school the next day and named several students he was targeting.
“The suspect indicated he was a senior at his high school, had failing grades and mentioned names of students he was targeting, along with plans about how the shooting would proceed,” said Port Alberni RCMP Staff Sgt. Lee Omilusik.
When the B.C. native started questioning the kid, he logged off. The Canadian contacted the RCMP, who in turn launched a cyber investigation. Through Microsoft Law Enforcement Security, investigators concluded the suspect was in San Antonio, Texas. The boy was arrested before any kind of shooting took place.
“In this case, the suspect was quickly arrested and no one was hurt thanks to the information received from a concerned citizen.”
Read the full story here.
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"Person prevents game-related school shooting"
5 bucks says computer games will be blamed for the Texan wanting to shoot up the school. The fact that the guy who informed authorities is also a gamer, and found this out through online gaming, will not be mentioned.
I tell the Mrs I'm going to fix the roof at the weekend. Doesn't mean it's going to happen.
Nice to see the "Ministerium für Staatssicherheit" still works.
On the other hand no one was shot. so its a good thing.
So there is a use for xbox live... I was wondering all these years why anyone bothered.
well, thats good but i can bet that he was just blah-blah-blah like almost all kids do online
well, thats good but i can bet that he was just blah-blah-blah like almost all kids do online
I agree and the sad part is the Police State cops in the USA will throw the book at this kid and ruin his life now.
So there is a use for xbox live... I was wondering all these years why anyone bothered.
^^ agreed!
Better safe than sorry, IMO.
"Person prevents game-related school shooting"5 bucks says computer games will be blamed for the Texan wanting to shoot up the school. The fact that the guy who informed authorities is also a gamer, and found this out through online gaming, will not be mentioned.
Well 10 buck says computer games will be blamed and the fact that the guy who informed authorities is also a gamer, and found this out through online gaming, will be mentioned and somehow turn to affect the image people have on games also.
"Person prevents game-related school shooting"5 bucks says computer games will be blamed for the Texan wanting to shoot up the school. The fact that the guy who informed authorities is also a gamer, and found this out through online gaming, will not be mentioned.
Completely agree with you. The media loves to sensationalize things.
Whatever happened to blaming the US Postal System?
There are some things you dont joke about and shooting up a school is one of them. Its one thing if you say you are going to beat someone up, but its another thing if you say you are going to kill them and a bunch of others and give details about how it will happen. With all of the school shootings that have happened as of late, I am glad the police took action regardless of if the kid was lying or not. No one was hurt and the kid is either off the streets (if he was telling the truth) or he learned a valuable lesson.
Propaganda
I clicked through and read the entire article. There was no explanation of why the kid in Texas said those things. It is impossible to tell from the article whether the kid was just fooling around or serious.
I tell the Mrs I'm going to fix the roof at the weekend. Doesn't mean it's going to happen.Nice to see the "Ministerium für Staatssicherheit" still works.On the other hand no one was shot. so its a good thing.
Yeah but bluffing about fixing the roof doesn't have the ability to induce a state of panic or social disruption either. We take threats like this serious, if it is found he did not have the means and resources to follow through with his claims he will recieve a punishment thats fitting. If it is found he did have the means he will be punished accordingly. If you think us in Law Enforcement over react to situations such as this, go ask the people in his community what they think. I'm sure they would be the first to tell you your perspective changes when it gets a little to close to home.
I tell the Mrs I'm going to fix the roof at the weekend. Doesn't mean it's going to happen.Nice to see the "Ministerium für Staatssicherheit" still works.On the other hand no one was shot. so its a good thing.
So you support the system where security officials aren't permitted to intervene until a casualty has been confirmed? Despicable!
In other news, X-box live invents Precrime. Microsoft spokespeople report free will as a bug, and they will be releasing a patch for it soon.
I tell the Mrs I'm going to fix the roof at the weekend. Doesn't mean it's going to happen.Nice to see the "Ministerium für Staatssicherheit" still works.On the other hand no one was shot. so its a good thing.
It's just like that movie with Tom Cruise about pre-crime. What was that called again, Jerry Maguire, or something like that.
I agree and the sad part is the Police State cops in the USA will throw the book at this kid and ruin his life now.
Sad? You got to be kidding, right? If anything, the kid should be arrested for being a total idiot. You don't "joke" about things like that. Moreover, this kid took it to the next level, naming names and the manner in which he was going to shoot them. Let's see how you would react if you had children and they were at the school where this douche bag was a student.
You want to treat it as an over reaction on society's part, and think this type of behavior should be totally acceptable. Well the problem isn't the former, but the latter. When we as a society accept this type of behavior as mere puffery or joking, then there is a serious problem.
It's just like that movie with Tom Cruise about pre-crime. What was that called again, Jerry Maguire, or something like that.
Minority report
Based on the comments so far, It's lucky there was a Canadian listening to that Texan. =D
Saying you are gonna kill a bunch of people and shoot up a school is a crime in itself... So even if he was just letting off steam, he still commited a crime. I am glad that they acted. I always look at it like this. If you recieved the call and didnt act on it could you live with yourself if it came true?
Some are saying the kid could have been just talking out of his rear end. But, I'm sorry. When he starts naming specific names and details the plans on how it will be carried out, that means he's been planning something, whether he was going to go through with it or not. How many of these other school shootings that happened had clues not even as clear cut as these? Better to be safe than sorry.
What's the big deal?? The kid was from Texas..., every kid in Texas talks about shooting up their school at one point or another... LOL!
BTW, don't let Ron Jeremy get a hold of this story. It would negate all his spoutings on how video games are more dangerous than porn!
I agree and the sad part is the Police State cops in the USA will throw the book at this kid and ruin his life now.
Free speech only extends so far. You can't yell fire in a crowded theatre and you can't make threats of violence against another human. It is specifically called assault. He made threatened bodily harm against specific persons and most likely had the means to make it happen. He broke the law, he should pay the price.
I agree and the sad part is the Police State cops in the USA will throw the book at this kid and ruin his life now.
He named NAMES to a total stranger, not to one of his friends. That's what makes this so serious. In the end it may just be a cry for help. Either way I hope the kid gets help he needs.
He named NAMES to a total stranger, not to one of his friends. That's what makes this so serious. In the end it may just be a cry for help. Either way I hope the kid gets help he needs.
+1, if he had just said "oh i wish i could just start blasting away at [group of people]" it may have been a figure of speech or some other trivial thing; but he has put enough thought into it to target specific people and to share his action plan with others. I highly doubt he didn't just all of a sudden decide to think this up and then confide in this one person on XBL, he has probably been talking about it for a while and this kid was the first one to take it to authorities.
Ultimately the kid is a loon, its better for him that he get help before committing murder; it would have gone a LOT worse for everyone involved if he went through with it. Do you want wait and do nothing, so that the knee-jerk video game haters can go on a rampage after something really bad happens?
First mistake: chatting with a stranger about personal life.
So you support the system where security officials aren't permitted to intervene until a casualty has been confirmed? Despicable!
I don't care if your country is locked down and anything you say can be misinterpreted, taken out of context, misrepresented and reported via by some 3rd party person who isn’t in your country.
The unsubstantiated accusation maybe relayed amongst several virtuous or nefarious individuals / governing bodies across boarders. Getting bigger at each stage.
I'm sure you said something about children on another post on these internets. I'll just call Scotland yard now.
Saying you are gonna kill a bunch of people and shoot up a school is a crime in itself... So even if he was just letting off steam, he still commited a crime.
Wow. Just... wow. Get off the internet, forever. You are a complete moron. "Talking about something is a crime". You are a fucking idiot.
Had the Canadian not said anything and the loony Texas kid goes through with it, how do we know what that could have done to the BC kids' psyche? Its better he erred on the side of caution.
Post-Columbine, DC Sniper, VA Tech Massacre, its not funny joking about killing classmates/teammates/colleagues in any arena as an aside.
@ ponchato you should take your own advice