Man killed by teen video gamers

[Sgt. Jones 0]

Hmm, what happens to the kids after they turn 19? Do they go to prison, or get away with murder because they were minors?

I hope they receive life, so they may rot to think about what they've done.

They'll probably be released at age 19. The juvenile justice system is designed to protect kids from their choices. It's predicated on the principle that since they don't really understand the consequences of their actions they can't really judge right from wrong. They should have waived them into adult court.....

[Major Fubar 0]

I agree with what you say about teenagers completely. But when I was a teenager, I had respect for other peoples property and wellbeing (i.e. I wouldn't fire a gun at passing cars).

Naturally it has to do with the intelligence level and mental health of the individual teenager, but it also has a LOT to do with how they are raised. These kids were old enough to realise the consequences of discharging a gun at vehicles. To me this leaves 3 possibilities:

1. They knew what they were doing could kill someone but made a conscious choice not to care

2. They were mentally handicapped or pyschiatrically disturbed

3. (And this is where my money is) They were raised by parents who had little time for them, let them run wild with little guidance or supervision, didn't bother instilling core moral values and/or common sense in them, never taught them basic gun safety/responsible gun usage, didn't monitor or didn't care what kind of computer games they were playing and were irresponisble enough to let these kids take a firearm out of the house...

I did a lot of stupid and irresponsible things as a teenager, as I'm sure most of us did...none of them ended up with anyone being dead; and I listened to heavy metal, played D&D, watched horror movies and vioent movies, and played violent games (i.e. high risk group).

As far as I'm concerned, the game producers/distributors are no more responsible for this incident than Judas Priest were for that halfwit James Vance who blew his brains out listening to JP...

[Sgt. Jones 0]

As far as I'm concerned, the game producers/distributors are no more responsible for this incident than Judas Priest were for that halfwit James Vance who blew his brains out listening to JP...

The lawsuit is the US weapon of choice for almost everything. I agree that the game designers really shouldn't be held liable for the actions of people even if they claim to be inspired by the game. It's kind of like the US cities that keep trying to sue gun manufacturers out of existence because the cities have high rates of gun violence. Under that train of thought we should be suing car manufacturers because motor vehicle accidents claim many more lives than guns. It all comes down to individual responsibility.

[NZXSHADOWS 0]

Its all just and excuse.Criminals have to try and blame it on something,Just so they can try and get out of the mess there in,Or lower there sentence or something.

[ozanzac 0]

They'll probably be released at age 19. The juvenile justice system is designed to protect kids from their choices. It's predicated on the principle that since they don't really understand the consequences of their actions they can't really judge right from wrong. They should have waived them into adult court.....

Oooo, I don't know about them being released. This happened in Virginia. It's too bad this didn't happen in Texas, where the boys would probably given their just deserts. (It's too bad this incident never occured.)

Quote[/b] ]In a suit filed Monday in Cocke County Circuit Court on behalf of the victims, Miami lawyer Jack Thompson and local lawyer Richard Talley alleged the game "inspires and trains players to shoot at vehicles and persons."

Thompson, who said he sent letters to Sony and Wal-Mart to drop the game before the shootings, said, "It's not like this is coming out of the blue, they chose to ignore this danger."

Thompson has made similar claims in the past and lost, notably a $33 million lawsuit against video game makers stemming from the 1997 school shooting near Paducah, Kentucky, by a 14-year-old boy.

I hate this guy already. Bloody social doogooders out to save the world.

[yelling voice] Mate. All your doin' is promoting the fact that no matter how stupid a person might be in the US, there'll always be a credible explaination (read B/S excuse) that justifies that stupid individual's even stupider actions. For that, I hope you burn in hell [/ yelling voice]

Quote[/b] ]The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in the case last year that it was "simply to far a leap from shooting characters on a video screen to shooting people in a classroom."

Hooray for the appeal system. Hopefully in this case, it won't be necessary.

As a side note, where did the boys get their version of Grand Theft Auto Three? Was it from Wall-mart? Was it even a ligitimate copy? Who was the boys copy of the game bought by? These would all be fairly critical factors in determining the weather or NOT responsibilty of T2i, Sony and Wal-Mart are responsible. I beleive just the inclusion of Wal-Mart into their lawsuit will kill their case, as one, their frekin huge, and their corporate lawyers could probably deflect any heat right back at this Thompson character, and two, the lawyer writing a letter urging wal-mart and Sony to drop GTA 3 has no standing within the presentation of the case, it's simply circumstantial to whatever was stated in the suppossed letter.

[Major Fubar 0]

Nice to know that there is a precedent for these kinds of court cases to fail.

What do you say, we the gamer community, file a class action against this Lawyer for defmaing video games and gamers?

Seriously, when are people going to get a clue: it isn't music, or games, or movies, or TV that causes people to kill. Noone can deny they are contributing factors, but they ae NOT causes.

You can ban everything that there is to be banned, and disturbed minds will still get triggered by something - whether it is getting stuck in traffic, picked on by coworkers, losing a loved one, getting dumped by partners, financial burdens etc. ad infinitum.

Bottom line: in my opinion, the biggest cause for teen violence and irresponsible behaviour is poor parenting, which in turn is caused by the slack, lazy, only-look-after-yourself attitude that society promotes these days.

Shit, before you go banning games, you should introduce a bill where people are required to undergo some sort of testing or licensing before they are allowed to breed. I mean you need a license to drive, to own a gun, to operate heavy machinery...but any two morons can get together and have a child.

[m21man 0]

Quote[/b] ]...you should introduce a bill where people are required to undergo some sort of testing or licensing before they are allowed to breed.

That would be an interesting world . The problem is that the kind of idiots who would file these lawsuits would then sue for "defamation" of their mental abilities .

[The Frenchman 0]

My music teacher once told our band of 110 students that the actions of one can ruin the rest of the bands reputation. I guess I will see this many more times in my life. Someone shoot me now

[Major Fubar 0]

My music teacher once told our band of 110 students that the actions of one can ruin the rest of the bands reputation. I guess I will see this many more times in my life. Someone shoot me now  

Just so long as the person who shoots you isn't a gamer!

Yes, it's an unfortunate symptom of most societies that we find it easier to punish the well behaved majority of any group than to try and contain/treat/understand/diagnose the violent minority. (Example - punish all gamers by banning certain games instead of trying to understand the full psychological reasons behind the actions of violent gamers)

[Longinius 1]

I just always find it amusing that these lawsuits happen in America. Why? Because thats the only country you actually have a chance of pulling it off in AND stand to make quite a big buck from it.

But when all is said and done, games dont kill people. Bad upbringing, unsound minds and weapons are the reason, not games or movies.

I grew up with games like Commando Libya, I watched movies like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Rambo and The Warriors. I have yet to kill someone, or even come close to doing so. But, if I ever happen to kill someone, for whatever reason, can I then sue Rockstar? Well, I guess its an easy excuse if I ever pull an insanely stupid stunt... "The games made me do it!". Please...

[Lt_Phoenix 0]

It really pisses me off when I hear about these kinds of lawsuits. These games are made for ADULTS, not KIDS.

At the end of the day it's the PARENT'S RESPONSIBILITY, NOT THE GAME MANUFACTURERS, which games their kids are playing with.

[llauma 0]

It really pisses me off when I hear about these kinds of lawsuits. These games are made for ADULTS, not KIDS.

At the end of the day it's the PARENT'S RESPONSIBILITY, NOT THE GAME MANUFACTURERS, which games their kids are playing with.

Normal kids can play these kind of games without killing people.

It's not a kid/adult thing.

The kids had some serious mental problems and I am sure they would have done it even if they were 40.

[laulau 0]

"normal" kids have violent video games...

"normal" kids have small soldiers to play war

"normal" kids love action movies where schwarzy kills hundred guys per minute

BUT

"normal" kids haven't guns....

[stevevcb 3]

If watching violent films or playing violent games makes you a violent person, then why aren't the board of censors all charging around with hatchets cutting each other to pieces? The versions they see are usually more extreme than the released versions (at least they are in Britain), so why aren't they stark raving bonkers?

But seriously, all but one of the games in my collection have some level of violence, be it shooting people in a "realistic" environment (OFP, Max Payne, Delta Force, Raven Shield), being able to run folks down on a whim (Mafia, GTA3, GTA2), or ordering other people to do the killing for me (Red Alert 2, Ground Control, Close Combat IV). Hell, I even own a couple of replica guns. I watch violent films, listen to rock music, and I intend to learn a martial art at some point in the future. But I'm quite a well-balanced, mild-mannered kind of guy. I don't like fighting in real life, and I've been known to be physically sick at the sight of blood. Hell, I refuse to eat meat if it's still kinda recogniseable (stuff like chicken legs, pork chops etc.). Now, if the ban-happy killjoys who insist that it's films, games or music to blame for violence, and not poor parenting, undersocialisation into the norms and values of a modern culture, lax gun laws in some countries, and mental problems, I'd be a crazed psychopath who likes to shoot at kittens with air rifles, burn churches and generally rape, loot and pillage my way around the country, while sniffing glue and drinking excessively. But I'm not. Hmm, I think we've hit on something guys.

If we all were influenced by games, all the people who played Sonic the Hedgehog would have dyed their entire bodies blue and started running around the place, somersaulting into people, and picking up gold rings.

[Guest DKM-jaguar]

has anyone claimed that ofp 'told' them to shoot people?

I was just thinking GTA3 is not very realistic, but ofp and mafia are.. yet i think that more people say GTAIII is responsible for the kind of shootings we're talking about. Strange? It COULD be that GTA3 is more accesible to people with less able minds than more complicated/realistic games, so the kind of people stupid enough to copy a game are more likely to play them instead. Anyone agree?

[Baron von Beer 0]

Same old crap. Someone has a mental problem, but oh no, it can't be there fault, they're infalable. I believe that not every action of a young person is the parents fault. Most of the time however, it is. Violent tendancies usually develop as a result of mental problems, be it genetic, or from the environment one lives in. If someone cannot differentiate between reality and fiction, then I believe that falls into the former category.

It is just all too common to blame someone else for ones own failings... my kid killed somoene? MUST be someone elses fault. I eat fast food 3 times a day, don't excersie, and gained weight? Why, how can that be MY fault?!?

They already tried legal action against gun manufacturers for violence, and failed. Hopefully this will fail too. What next? Sue Budweiser because someone got drunk, made the concious decision to get behind a steering wheel, and smashed into a concrete wall? (Maybee sue the car maker as well, because the car is an obvious danger to someone who decides to illegaly drive while intoxicated.....

[havocsquad 0]

That's the problem though, when you create a product available to the public, you assume some "Social Responsiblilty." If some dumbass goes pshyco and gains the evil and muderous insight by your game, well that's your problem as the game maker. You assume responsibility when you produce and sell that product, even if it might cause mental, emotional, and behavior instability for a very select few minority.

That goes for all products and services produced in most capitalistic countries, you are responsible for what you make and the effects it has on society, even if you do everything in your power to prevent such problems.

Without social responsibility, a car manufacturing business could be charge 100,000 dollars for a piece of crap vehicle that's a death trap and there is no cheaper alternative available.

Well, we deal with it and we go on and do our best.

[stevevcb 3]

The idea that games and films can influence people to do bad things is bunk, IMHO; if you play a game and then go out and re-enact it, it's because you have no perception of what is real and what is make-believe, and you have no grasp of what is right and what is wrong. While I'm at it, the whole idea that games teach kids to kill is bunk too; chopping a dude's head off with a katana sword in real life is more than a matter of pressing left-right + B on your joypad, and shooting at passing motorists with a real gun is much harder IRL than moving a mouse around, then clicking the left button.

If we're going to ban something, we should ban guns.

[drewb99 0]

Well, look at England and tell us we should ban guns

When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns. And I only use my machinegun in the safety of my own home, I ain't hurtin' nobody.

[GoOB 0]

I grew up playing Track&Field karate, and Mortal kombat. I even played hogans alley as a five year old. Still I have never been in a fist fight or any other fight where physical violence was applied in any way (except sparring with my mates and my boxing instructor. But it wasn't really a fight). I might be wanting to punch a guys lights out but I never do it because of the consequences that can come of it. Both for me and for him.

But I have been close to causing someone serious injury, but it wasn't fighting or anything. It was an accident or I so tell them *wicked laughter*

[Guest DKM-jaguar]

Well, look at England and tell us we should ban guns  

When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.  And I only use my machinegun in the safety of my own home, I ain't hurtin' nobody.

In britian gun crime is rising, but then look at the amount of it in america where guns are legal. I think Britian has the right policy on gun crime.

[stevevcb 3]

Aye, nobody except the military should have access to guns, but since there's always the risk of some nutter getting hold of a gun, the police should have some too, just in case.

Then again, you could make guns perfectly legal. Just make it impossible to get hold of ammunition instead

[Baron Hurlothrumbo IIX 0]

I live in the UK and IMO the best solution is tough background checks on gun owners: one thing people forget (or ignore in their desperate claims that 'teh guns are badd!!!11!') is that the firearms used in crimes (shootings, drive-bys) are not legal weapons - they are not legally owned - they are black market imported guns

Stopping responsible citizens owning weapons will not influence this at all. Not that I think legal gun ownership for more people is a solution - I certainly don't think everyone wandering round with a concealed pistol will help.

[ArchangelSKT 0]

It is basically only the mentality of the people , not the guns or the video games that makes then go crazy from time to time .

In Norway ALOT of people own guns and even so very few people get killed every year in gun related crime .

And even when they do , the weapons are often from the black-market .

In my opinion it is our culture and respect for firearms and the safety courses one must pass that is the foundation for dealing with firearms in a decent way .

I`ve used to be a competition shooter and I`ve been interested in firearms for about 19 years now , and how many violent movies and games I`ve seen and played I don`t know .

As a person I`m very relaxed and comfortable with that , as a matter of fact being a competition shooter made me more quiet and focused then an adrenaline bomb .

[Guest DKM-jaguar]

Aye, nobody except the military should have access to guns, but since there's always the risk of some nutter getting hold of a gun, the police should have some too, just in case.

Then again, you could make guns perfectly legal. Just make it impossible to get hold of ammunition instead

In Britian the average officer is not armed, but we have reaction teams and our version of SWAT and i beleive they are ranked pretty high compared to law enforcement groups of the same type.

But notice how everything they ban still goes on to some degree..but gun bans are bettre in my opinion.