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Warriors Of Freedom Prompted Rampage Attempt?

Posted by simoniker on from the scapegoat-time-again dept.

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to a Philadelphia Inquirer article linking videogames to an alleged spree killing attempt. According to the article, "Investigators suspect the three teens arrested.. as they allegedly were about to launch a killing rampage in the small town, found inspiration in violent computer games.. [police] learned that the name the three reportedly had given themselves - Warriors of Freedom - is also an Internet-based combat game." But only a few media reports mention that the violent game connection was made by Jack Thompson, a Miami lawyer and outspoken critic of violent video and computer games - is this a case of shameless Googling to find any obscure game with a similar name and make a connection, or is there genuine evidence here?

4 of 771 comments (clear)

  1. Re:My take on videogame violence. by AvantLegion · · Score: -1, Troll
    Do videogames cause violence? No, I don't think so. The capacity for violence must already exist within a person; I don't think a videogame is capable of creating that in you. But it is possible for videogames to bring out the violence in someone. A person with a capacity for violence might play a computer game such as Counter-Strike and go out on a CS-inspired killing spree. Did CS cause the violence? No. But without CS, perhaps they'd just go out on a baseball bat killing spree if they only happen to play sports games.

    You're dumb. I'm gonna kill you with an shotgun like Tommy Vercetti!

  2. butt fucked by scummy Negroes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    These boys are going to learn about violence first hand from Negro criminals.

  3. Re:There are no thought crimes... by Minna+Kirai · · Score: 0, Troll

    the easiest way to take out the most people by myself with a limited number of weapons.

    You do all that work, and then don't publish your results? (For academic interest only, of course)

    My view: For maximum kill-count, target selection is somewhat more important than weapons. You want the most helpless victims possible. Kindergarden is when children are first congregated in large numbers, so try for that.

    And then as to the "virtues" of an AK-47... it's not the best choice. The rounds are too large and too noisy. You'll be firing at small, soft targets at ranges much less than 100m (often less than 5), so the power of a larger cartridge is wasted. A bullet which passes through a target is actually less deadly than one which stops inside (preferably after rotating in passage). It's also so loud that potential targets will be scattering away before you can get to most of them.

    Optimally, you'd want a silenced submachine gun. An Uzi, or something similar but more reliable. Look at what the police carry in US airports today. Advantages of silenced SMG over an assault rifle: quieter, ammo is smaller so you can carry more shots, shorter barrel is easier to aim at close quarters (when there are wailing mothers hanging off of you, for instance), shorter barrel is more concealable as you make your approach.

  4. On-topic humor by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    Q. What do you call a plane full of Muslims crashing to the ground?

    A. JUSTICE