Teen Arrested for Making Threats Over Xbox Live

[Lord Mountbatten Reborn]

They only arrested one? Disappointing.

 

[XT inc]

Sure the guy was acting like a dick, but the punishment was overkill. I mean you try and freak someone out over Xbox live and you get felony charges for joking and then expelled from school for playing a joke on someone.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

Better safe than sorry and, maybe the little Texan learned something *shrug*

Being an ass online isn't as fun as it was because of how much harder it is to remain anonymous in any given online setting. Granted there was never a time in internet history in which one couldn't discover where the ass-in-question was posting from but, with our ever improving space technology, we might as well be represented on any given map as a little LED blip

 

[ian528]

What is it with Canada and Texas... First creepy older woman goes up and sleeps with teen to then be arrested in Texas because although she did not violate canadian law she did violate Texan law. Now a Texan teen is turned in by a Canadian?

 

[chronobreak]

My God, I am absolutely shocked people would take the child's side on this. Yelling fir in a thatre will get you arrested, it makes sense threatening to shoot up your school would as well.

 

[UtopiaV1]

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.

What if the student actually meant it though and the other gamer did not report him? What if the shooting did happen and people were killed?

How would you feel about if it did happen?

You're missing the point. He couldn't and didn't commit any crime whatsoever. And was still arrested and held in custody on BS "word of mouth" charges.

A month or two ago, there was a thread about how you would assassinate the US president. I said that I was going to do it, giving a specific time, location, and details on how I was to kill him.

Of course I didn't do it. We all know that. I was making a point, not actually planning an assassination. (the point - no one in that thread should be arrested for hypothetical musings... much like this thread really)

So no more 'what ifs', alright? Police are supposed to operate on 'just the facts', and in this case, the facts pointed to zilch. About that, there can be no dispute.

 

[UtopiaV1]

My God, I am absolutely shocked people would take the child's side on this. Yelling fir in a thatre will get you arrested, it makes sense threatening to shoot up your school would as well.

Oh, and that's disturbing the peace with intention to cause chaos. Not the same thing as idle online chatter about an EXTREMELY UNLIKELY situation.

You know why school shootings get in the news? Cos they're so god-damn RARE. And if you start saying 'what if', then i point you to my above comment.

 

[Captain Pancake]

See, this is sort of the opposite of the usual issue. In this case, a videogame helped to stop a crime, not cause one. Let's see the media twist this one against us somehow.

 

[TheRundownRabbit]

Well, I can understand him being arrested for a threat like that.

 

[chronobreak]

Oh, and that's disturbing the peace with intention to cause chaos. Not the same thing as idle online chatter about an EXTREMELY UNLIKELY situation.

You know why school shootings get in the news? Cos they're so god-damn RARE. And if you start saying 'what if', then i point you to my above comment.

How would a kid making a list and saying he is going to shoot up a school, and then potentially going through with it extremely unlikely? He said he was going to do it, even went into the planning stages, according to what he himself said. That does not constitute an unlikely scenario.

And you really think that is why school shootings get into the news? Are you kidding me? Could it be, you know, because a kid is shooting up his classmates? Have you ever even watched the news for more than a minute and seen the kind of things that get reported on? Everything from Dog Shows to what people like Paris Hilton wear, and you actually have the gall to think the news wouldn't report an adolescent killing people in their school, or that the only reason they would do so is because it is rare?

Tell you what. Maybe you should contact one of the parents of a victim of a school shooting, and tell them your side of the story. Tell them how rare it is for it to happen, so it shouldn't be taken seriously.

 

[UtopiaV1]

Oh, and that's disturbing the peace with intention to cause chaos. Not the same thing as idle online chatter about an EXTREMELY UNLIKELY situation.

You know why school shootings get in the news? Cos they're so god-damn RARE. And if you start saying 'what if', then i point you to my above comment.

How would a kid making a list and saying he is going to shoot up a school, and then potentially going through with it extremely unlikely? He said he was going to do it, even went into the planning stages, according to what he himself said. That does not constitute an unlikely scenario.

And you really think that is why school shootings get into the news? Are you kidding me? Could it be, you know, because a kid is shooting up his classmates? Have you ever even watched the news for more than a minute and seen the kind of things that get reported on? Everything from Dog Shows to what people like Paris Hilton wear, and you actually have the gall to think the news wouldn't report an adolescent killing people in their school, or that the only reason they would do so is because it is rare?

Tell you what. Maybe you should contact one of the parents of a victim of a school shooting, and tell them your side of the story. Tell them how rare it is for it to happen, so it shouldn't be taken seriously.

I can't believe I'm going to reply to you, but what is your problem? School shootings are terrible, horrible events that should be avoided at all possible costs. You know what else is horrible and terrible? Plane-crashes, terrorist attacks, genocide etc etc. They all get front page on the newspapers. Things like murders, rape and house fires do not. You know why? They are mundane & day-to-day events (for the media), even though they are ALSO horrible and terrible for the victims and their families.

This kid had no guns, no solid plans, and while i'm not defending him (because he may WELL HAVE become a psycho mass-murderer), he certainly hadn't done anything wrong up until the point they arrested him.

All the police had to go on was his words. And seeing as though he didn't go through with it, we -know- his words don't mean a damn thing.

 

[chronobreak]

School shootings are terrible, horrible events that should be avoided at all possible costs.

Exactly.

You know what else is horrible and terrible? Plane-crashes, terrorist attacks, genocide etc etc. They all get front page on the newspapers. Things like murders, rape and house fires do not. You know why? They are mundane & day-to-day events (for the media), even though they are ALSO horrible and terrible for the victims and their families.

That has nothing to do with any of this. And you must not read pappers if you think murders do not get on the front page. Also, a school shooting IS a murder.

This kid had no guns, no solid plans, and while i'm not defending him (because he may WELL HAVE become a psycho mass-murderer), he certainly hadn't done anything wrong up until the point they arrested him.

Yep, he did. He threatened the lives of others. Where I am, it is a misdemeanor, I don't know how they do things in Texas, but I am very aware their laws are usually more harsh.

Sec. 53a-62. Threatening in the second degree: Class A misdemeanor.

(a) A person is guilty of threatening in the second degree when: (1) By physical threat, such person intentionally places or attempts to place another person in fear of imminent serious physical injury, (2) such person threatens to commit any crime of violence with the intent to terrorize another person, or (3) such person threatens to commit such crime of violence in reckless disregard of the risk of causing such terror.

(b) Threatening in the second degree is a class A misdemeanor.

and while i'm not defending him

Then what is the problem, why are you arguing? Kid talked some stuff, now he has to eat it. Justice is served, he probably won't do it again. One less kid spouting hatred through video games, it works out for everyone.

 

[The_Shinigamer]

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.

When I was in school I was called into a principal's office for police questioning because someone said someone else said that someone else heard me and a friend "sinisterly plotting" to "blow up the school." I was labelled a terrorist, even though I was failing chemistry at the time which they would've noticed if our American heads weren't up George Dub-yah's ass at the time, and the rest of my scholastic career, the moment anything happened I was asked about it first.

now it's a slippery ass slope on this arguement and I am indeed overjoyed that a potentially serious crime may have been prevented. The question here is was it worth the cost? Any little thing that an aging conservative Senator sees as an opportunity to crack down on any kind of Broadly listed "Terrorist Acts" especially involving these stupid kids that

WONT GET OFF MY DAMN LAWN!!!!

He's gonna push an agenda that can capitalize on this. It isn't violent videogames save the day. It's Violent videogames cause students to rage and nearly become terrorists. They'll also probably work drugs and teen pregnancy into the headline somewhere.

As for one of our families or ourselves being victimized and there being potential to catch it...there always is one. It's your cell phone. Everyone's got one and the mic never shuts off, just is or isn't connected to the radio. EVERYTHING CAN BE HEARD IF YOU WISH. See how well you like it.

Edit: Fixed the quotes for ya, and then fudged it by posting it right then. My bad.
Anyway we will always have some people who think W. was the next best thing to sliced bread, and there are people who feel the need to panic if they see someone with a towel on their head(like the French, lately). Fortunately those are in the minority, but, unfortunately, most of those seem to work for the TSA. As this poor boy found out. [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35428010/ns/travel-news/]
Good news is the Patriot Act is coming up for renewal and is not looking like it will get renewed. Yay! It sucks that ignorance and paranoia hit you in the face, and I do hope it doesn't again.
Want some relief on your part? Be careful how you word things when you share things in public, since they can be misconstrued if easily overheard in the wrong context. People voice out about anything, and it should be our right. But these days many are sensitive to persons speaking out about doing harm or damage in schools. It's been happening way too often, and it sucks we have to be careful about it now because of it.
But one thing to do, at least, is write your congress(wo)men and tell them to vote against renewing that waste of paper that is called the Patriot Act. All it does is punish regular people and limits our rights, while serving as a primer to terrorists on how not to get caught.

Unfortunately I live in KY so my Congressman is Mitch McConnell pictured below:

 

[Treblaine]

"He immediately contacted Royal Canadian Mounted Police..."

They always get their man

 

[UtopiaV1]

School shootings are terrible, horrible events that should be avoided at all possible costs.

Exactly.

You know what else is horrible and terrible? Plane-crashes, terrorist attacks, genocide etc etc. They all get front page on the newspapers. Things like murders, rape and house fires do not. You know why? They are mundane & day-to-day events (for the media), even though they are ALSO horrible and terrible for the victims and their families.

That has nothing to do with any of this. And you must not read pappers if you think murders do not get on the front page. Also, a school shooting IS a murder.

This kid had no guns, no solid plans, and while i'm not defending him (because he may WELL HAVE become a psycho mass-murderer), he certainly hadn't done anything wrong up until the point they arrested him.

Yep, he did. He threatened the lives of others. Where I am, it is a misdemeanor, I don't know how they do things in Texas, but I am very aware their laws are usually more harsh.

Sec. 53a-62. Threatening in the second degree: Class A misdemeanor.

(a) A person is guilty of threatening in the second degree when: (1) By physical threat, such person intentionally places or attempts to place another person in fear of imminent serious physical injury, (2) such person threatens to commit any crime of violence with the intent to terrorize another person, or (3) such person threatens to commit such crime of violence in reckless disregard of the risk of causing such terror.

(b) Threatening in the second degree is a class A misdemeanor.

and while i'm not defending him

Then what is the problem, why are you arguing? Kid talked some stuff, now he has to eat it. Justice is served, he probably won't do it again. One less kid spouting hatred through video games, it works out for everyone.

Ah, if that information is correct, then forgive me sir, i was labouring under a misapprehension. It appears the law is on your side. Please consider me told.

I live in the UK, and have no knowledge of your US laws. Here in the UK, you can shout shit from the rooftop and people will just ignore you, so long as it is YOUR rooftop...

 

[dutchmastakilla]

I think in TEXAS of all places that this is entirely necessary. A red state like that has to take precautions. Guns are pretty much sold out of a vending machine with bottles of Jack out there.

The thing that gets to me on XBLA though is the never ending wave of racism. Is it me or does every MW2 game have a redneck kook to normal functioning human being ratio of 6/2?

Seriously every single time Im on there its same old sad story
dumb redneck-" uhhiiuh duhhh your stoopid you must be a ******"
timid black nerd boy-" your just mad I iii i i Im better than you!?"
two more dumb rednecks jump in" your just mad your a ******!"
"****** ****** ****** ******!"

JESUS man America runs on racism, I swear.

 

[theironbat46]

reminds me of the penny arcade comic "the federal bureau of taking all you shit", but I couldn't find it.

I can see the headlines now:

Violent video game prevents school shooting.

It will be glorious.

he has a point.

I want to laugh at my 4th grade teacher then.

How so is your 4th grade teacher involved?

One day, I brought in a game informer to school, and she shouted " this makes kids kill each other!" i want to kick her in the face.

 

[Cryofthewolf]

Wow, X-Box Live did something good for once.

 

[stabnex]

Again? Sheesh. People need to grow big-kid brains or get them removed at puberty.