Grand Theft Auto reportedly inspires teen rampage
"I am an antichrist..."
Anti-violent videogame campaigners have long searched for hard evidence that some titles inspire real-life crimes, and now they may have an example.
According to a report by Newsday.com, a group of five US teenagers that recently went on the rampage in Nassau County, New York told Vice City police that they were acting out scenes from the game series. The gang apparently didn’t have access to rocket launchers, handguns and helicopters, so went out on a spree with a baseball bat, crowbar and broomstick.
During the riot, the teens mugged one man outside a supermarket and “menaced motorists” with their implements of mayhem, police claimed. One victim reportedly had his teeth knocked out, while a driver had his van smashed with a bat, and another was subjected to an attempted carjack.
Detective Raymond Coté said the youths decided they would go out and do some street robberies “emulating the popular fictional character Niko Bellic".
In one instance, the gang approach a man from behind, forced him to the ground and started “punching him, kicking him, knocking the teeth out of his head and took what he had on him".
The group obviously achieved at least one wanted star, and were rounded up by police and arrested. But antagonist Stephen Attard, aged 18 of New Hyde Park, was charged with first-degree robbery. Others were charged with robbery, and one was charged with criminal possession of stolen property. One gang member was only 14 years old.
COMMENTS
My mum won't let me play these games...
On the 360 because its rubbish on there!!
Instead i have the warm fuzzy feeling when i play it on my PS3 which never breaks. I think the warm good feeling is when I do things in my pants.
Hmmm...
Considering the hours I've logged on: Age of Empires (1&2), Empire Earth, Empires Dawn of the Modern World, Star Wars: Battlegrounds, Command and Conquer: Generals, Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2, Rise of Nations and numerous others in that vein, should we be at all worried? Realy...
Must...
Resist...
Urge...
To...
Conquer...
World...
Using...
Dolphins...
GAH!
Or, alternatively, to stand on tall buildings and attempt command those below to do my bidding.
Evil Bill, 'cause all those games are for his O/S. I blame him. Hand me my money down Mr. gates!
(I kid! I Kid!)
Oh God! Save the children!
"Help me, I think I want to dress up in a blue spikey suit and bounce all over a poorly constructed nursery playground collecting gold rings!"
"That's nothing, in my earlier days I actually wanted to run around Antchester, with my girlfriend, trying to get away from killer ants!"
"Then there was the time these aliens came raining down from the sky in box shapped craft making a "blob-blob-blob-splurge" noise!"
"Ahhhh! I played that game days at a time until one day I just snapped and went on a rampage dressed in a yellow, three-quarter pizza shapped outfit catching multi-coloured ghosts and eating happy pills!"
"Help me! I want to try to make some fecking sense and stop blaming all societies ills on the latest fecking bogey man that I cannot understand and do not want to even make an effort to try!"
"If Pac-Man had had any effect on us as kids, we'd all be running around in darkened rooms, listening to loud music and munching pills!" - Marcus Brigstocke, Comedian
re:mike
You are in a debris room filled with stuff washed in from the surface. A low wide passage with mouldy carpet becomes plugged with broken printers and TPS reports here, but an awkward canyon leads upward and west.
A post-it on the wall says, "Magic word XYZZY."
A three foot red stapler with a rusty star on one end lies nearby.
solution
i have a solution.. just ban everything..
i'm missing something here aren't i?
