Teen Arrested for Making Threats Over Xbox Live

[UtopiaV1]

You guys ever watched Minority Report? Where people who saw the future, "pre-cogs", predicted "crimes" that would happen in the future, and then the police would arrest the person who would commit the crime before they could do it. Do you remember how that film ended? (and don't say badly, but if you did i would agree )

Turns out *gasp* intent and action are TOTALLY DIFFERENT THINGS!!! This is the stupidest waste of police time i've ever witnessed since my neighbor rang the local PD to complain about my unkempt fern tree in the garden. Especially given the fact that this person (in the above article) didn't have the EQUIPMENT necessary actually carry out the crime he said he was going to commit.

This is so stupid. This isn't games being used for good, this is the first step towards a 1984-style future...

EDIT: I see I have been beaten to the punch. Glad to see not everyone in here is a short-sighted, a-moral sheep...

 

[The Heik]

Yay technology FTW!

It's doing some good in the world!

 

[notyouraveragejoe]

I read this same thing just a couple days ago....and i applaud this person for exposing the idiots over XBL who think just because they're anonymous that everything and anything can be said

I agree completely.

Wow, if the police take X box threats seriously, it must be a slow day.

Like everything on live, its pure B.S.

I have had 1337 people threaten to kill me and as far as I know it hasnt happened.

Well maybe you're like

Spoiler

Bruce Willis in Sixth Sense...you just haven't realized you're dead

Okay. Sure thats a really old spoiler but still. Back on topic. I agree but still if the police hadn't checked and the teen did the school shooting then everyone would be up in arms about how the police should've checked the guy out.

 

[LCP]

It's a crime to say you will kill somebody. I think it's a good thing he got caught, it will certainly help put the point across that you've got to watch your mouth.

 

[Calatar]

Wait, so the kid is being charged with the false-alarm? Shouldn't it be the guy who reported him?

Wait, what? So you're saying that a guy who, after hearing that someone was planning to shoot up a school and murder several people, he should be charged because the kid was fucking around? What if it had been true?

I'm not saying that. It just doesn't make sense logically when the kid didn't exactly report himself to the police and say after wards, "Yeah, you know what I said... well I wasn't serious."

If anything I believe he should be charged but with something that fits the "crime". Also, removing him from school was still probably a good idea.

Yeah, the charge they're filing doesn't sound like it fits. It also sounds a bit silly, like "You're in trouble for that false alarm. You'd better be serious about it next time."

My own feelings are conflicted on this. People say a lot of stupid things, and it is hard to tell the difference between a serious threat and a phony threat. I think that this arrest was justified, because the student was apparently talking details. If somebody is talking details, you can't help but think it sounds real. Police probably did the right thing.

 

[wasalp]

Oh, hello. Glad to see you're all pleased with recent peace-keeping results. Please disregard me and continue to self-monitor, for the good of society. And remember, we're always watching. [http://www.netcharles.com/orwell/pics/1984/1984-signet1981.jpg] -BB

could you clarify that reference I am quite intrigued.

 

[Darkblazer]

happened to be playing Call of Duty 2: Modern Warfare

Stopped reading after this..

 

[Krythe]

Wow, if the police take X box threats seriously, it must be a slow day.

The police wouldn't do it if it wasn't common for school shooters to announce their plans on the internet.

Yes, school shooters often do announce intentions of violence on the internet, along with ABSOLUTELY FUCKING EVERYONE ELSE. Hell, even offline, people say things about violence in jest. How many times have you heard someone say "I'd love to kick that guy's ass." Or heard someone say "I'm gonna kill him if he did such-and-such." And then they proceed to do NOTHING.

I'm personally disgusted that the kid's getting a felony and a suspension because of something he said on a video game.

I wonder how many people are stopping to think just what a slippery slope we're on here. Where does it end? Should I be able to sue people who call me stupid on the escapist for defemation of character? Should the FBI start monitoring and arresting everyone on 4chan? Hell, why not just bring back the motherfucking Gestapo? That's the way it's starting to head.

 

[im jt]

taken way out of proportion im threanted over psn and live every day because i own em but thats just stupid

 

[Regiment]

This just in: Don't announce your evil plans over open channels. While we're at it, don't announce something that SOUNDS like evil plans over open channels, either.

Wait, you'd rather have a school shooting?

Even if it's a false alarm?

What? No no no! I'm trying to say that the kid's an idiot for talking about this. I'm saying it's stupid to make threats like this in public (or virtual public), and I'm glad he got arrested and expelled for it.

 

[samsonguy920]

Wait, so the kid is being charged with the false-alarm? Shouldn't it be the guy who reported him?

The man's report was honest, therefore not a false report. Who is to say that the kid didn't backpedal when he got questioned? Kids making such threats or making them up are taken seriously, as they should be. I find the charge to be quite fitting since hopefully it gives the kid time to realize what a dumb schmuck he was being. And maybe the parents will do some proper parenting as well.
And maybe flowers will grow in the Arctic Ocean, Tiger Woods will actually go to Sex Addicts Anonymous, and I will get a 10 person kill streak on CounterStrike.

 

[KAPTAINmORGANnWo4life]

Thank you, Jesus. These little shits need to be taught a lesson. And it's in Canada, too. Hopefully, the Provincial Police and other Online players will start taking this stuff more seriously.

If someone in Quebec gets nailed for racial slurs, I'm getting a Mountie Crest tattooed on my chest.

 

[SonicKoala]

Even though it's probable that his threat was bullshit, you can never be too careful. It's very possible that his threat was genuine, so therefore, I feel the guy from B.C. did the right thing by reporting him. Seriously, when you're in a country that's gone through things like Columbine, saying shit like that is flat out retarded.

 

[Gladion]

snip

First of all, relax, or I won't answer to you beyond this one post.

Of course EVERYONE DOES IT. I know that, you don't need to point it out. The difference is in real life, you can tell when somebody is serious and when somebody is joking. It gets harder on the internet, even on phone. Also, this kid did not just say "I'll rage on school tomorrow", but, if you read the source or at least for fucks sake the OT halfway properly:

[...]“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,”

You're also completely losing relations here. FBI arresting people on the internet, and what's this Gestapo shit? Do you even know what you're talking about? This case here is nothing like insulting somebody over the internet.

 

[samsonguy920]

You guys ever watched Minority Report? Where people who saw the future, "pre-cogs", predicted "crimes" that would happen in the future, and then the police would arrest the person who would commit the crime before they could do it. Do you remember how that film ended? (and don't say badly, but if you did i would agree )

Turns out *gasp* intent and action are TOTALLY DIFFERENT THINGS!!! This is the stupidest waste of police time i've ever witnessed since my neighbor rang the local PD to complain about my unkempt fern tree in the garden. Especially given the fact that this person (in the above article) didn't have the EQUIPMENT necessary actually carry out the crime he said he was going to commit.

This is so stupid. This isn't games being used for good, this is the first step towards a 1984-style future...

EDIT: I see I have been beaten to the punch. Glad to see not everyone in here is a short-sighted, a-moral sheep...

If it was the government monitoring LIVE that then arrested the boy, and then probably the man for not saying anything about it on his own, then you would be right. It is a part of a person's civic duty to follow up when they are witness to a crime that is happening or is in the process of. I am curious when down the road a crime is committed against you or someone close to you, and you find out later that someone could have stepped up and said something that would have prevented the crime from being committed, if you would forgive that witness since they didn't play the part of an "Orwellian stooge." Ask yourself that.

And civic duty doesn't mean it falls under law, and to that end I would prefer it stayed. States and communities that have a Good Samaritan law are seriously being overreactionary. People shouldn't feel compelled under the law to report a crime, but instead should feel it to be their part of the community that they live in.
The man did his civic duty, and for that I applaud him.

 

[lacktheknack]

Wait, so the kid is being charged with the false-alarm? Shouldn't it be the guy who reported him?

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

We don't need anymore idiot lawsuits clogging up the already-clogged-like-my-school's-plumbing court system.

The guy who actually reported did the right thing, why the hell would we punish him for it?

 

[Kuchinawa212]

Yaaaay The day is saved thanks to video games!

 

[lacktheknack]

No.

Just no.

If you're threatening to shoot up your school, I don't give two shits where you made the threat, you should be penalized over it,

Because some people will do it!

If you're actually dumb enough to mouth off terrorist threats in public, you desperately need therapy.

Yes, I meant that.

 

[Bat Vader]

Wow, if the police take X box threats seriously, it must be a slow day.

The police wouldn't do it if it wasn't common for school shooters to announce their plans on the internet.

Yes, school shooters often do announce intentions of violence on the internet, along with ABSOLUTELY FUCKING EVERYONE ELSE. Hell, even offline, people say things about violence in jest. How many times have you heard someone say "I'd love to kick that guy's ass." Or heard someone say "I'm gonna kill him if he did such-and-such." And then they proceed to do NOTHING.

I'm personally disgusted that the kid's getting a felony and a suspension because of something he said on a video game.

I wonder how many people are stopping to think just what a slippery slope we're on here. Where does it end? Should I be able to sue people who call me stupid on the escapist for defemation of character? Should the FBI start monitoring and arresting everyone on 4chan? Hell, why not just bring back the motherfucking Gestapo? That's the way it's starting to head.

No, it isn't. Another player reported what that player said. It wasn't like the police were taped into the game or something, a concerned player reported it. Also, someone who calls somebody else stupid on the internet is nothing. Somebody who threatens to shoot up their school is something to be concerned about.

Since it is the internet you do not know if they are serious or not.

What if that player did not report the other player and the school shooting did happen?

 

[Rednog]

I'm really curious if any of the charges will really stick?
What real proof is there that the kid made the threats (I mean I'm pretty sure he actually did make the threats)? What's stopping some one for calling up the police after getting into an argument with some kid and telling them the kid plans to blow up his or her school? What happened to acting on actual evidence? Granted, yes it could have saved lives if it was serious, but it wasn't and now I suspect people might be less inclined to follow through with an investigation into another claim like this. Kind of like the boy who cried wolf, people will be less inclined to believe it when it really is serious.

Edit: Granted there is some proof by the fact that he actually named names, but if you were really determined to screw over some kid you could easily look up his or her school and find it that way or through facebook.