A nine-year-old Orlando, Fla. boy — “so tiny … he could barely see the judge over the podium” — was sentenced to home confinement by a state judge after he brought “multiple weapons to school.” The video game being blamed? Minecraft. Mine-bleeping-craft.
The unnamed student had “an unloaded handgun, a magazine with six bullets inside, a steak knife and a small-handled sledge hammer,” reports WFTV-TV of Orlando. The firearm came from his father’s home.
“The boy’s father said he was playing a character he learned from the video game Minecraft,” WFTV reports.
“They use hammers to dig and knives and guns to protect themselves from zombies,” he said, according to the station.
WFTV reported that his father said “he was just acting out the game” and that the gun could never be fired, because it’s firing pin had been removed. Still, the kid knew where to find it and knew where to find the ammo, which ain’t good.
But while Minecraft is not exactly a nonviolent game, in no way does it rise to the level of violence in typical scapegoats like Call of Duty or Grand Theft Auto. Minecraft is rated E10+ by the ESRB. Hearing that game — which is being taught in first grade, for God’s sake — linked to a garden variety guns-n-schools freakout story is just nauseating.
Boy who brought weapons to school sentenced to home confinement [WFTV-TV h/t Franklin A.]
Comments
25 responses to “Now We’ve Heard It All: Minecraft Blamed In School Violence Case”
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Let’s ignore the fact the gun and its ammo were kept where the kid could get them. Instead let’s blame video games because clearly bad parenting isn’t an issue. So, basically it’s same old same old.
At least the dad removed the firing pin. More than what a lot do over there.
what I dont understand is the fact that unless you have mods, which a 9 year old most likely wont know how to use, there are no guns, nor hammers. He could have mistaken a sword for a knife, but guns and hammers, I don’t think this should be blamed on minecraft. Even if the kid could use mods, all his friends would be confused by it
I’ve never played Minecraft, so I’ll take your word on that. However, you really shouldn’t be surprised that such trivial things like “the truth” are skewed or completely ignored. All that matters is that the kid has played the game at one point in time, and then at another point in time he turned up at school with weapons. The people who come up with this bullshit don’t want the truth because that doesn’t get viewers or sell newspapers. Sensationalistic bull crap that gets people’s blood boiling or straight out fear mongering gets the viewers/sells papers. Also, I suspect some of the people who come up with this sort of thing quite honestly believe it simply because they are incapable of logical and coherent thought and fear modern technology.
^ This guy knows how the media works
I guess we should probably also ignore the fact that Minecraft doesn’t even have guns in it?
Thought that as well. If you said.
“They use hammers to dig and knives and guns to protect themselves from zombies,”
I don’t think people would think you were talking about Minecraft.
If the kid’s so into MInecraft, give him a job digging ditches. Get him bringing some cash in for the family if he’s so fucking impressionable.
Rate up! XD also does mc have guns and ammo at all?
Not unless it is a mod, don’t personally play the game, but my 12 year old who does said “Guns are in the mods the Grown-ups make.”
Make him mine $300M in coal or he goes to Paris Hilton.
So some kid got access to his Dad’s gun and rather than accept responsibility the Dad decided to blame a video game.
He was either acting like a character from the game or he wasn’t.
It’s the American way.
If you guys want a video to go along with this article, you can find one here: http://www.wftv.com/videos/news/father-boy-who-brought-weapons-to-school-was/vCDXPx/
I didn’t know you can get guns in mincecraft….
In Minecraft mods you can..
This is something I’d expect to read on the Onion News Network.
These people are idiots. I know what really causes all this stuff to happen: Pocket calculators.
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Blame the LEGO Marvel Superheroes. That has guns and hammers and knives…..
The kid played it “every day, for like, an hour every day”. Something tells me Minecraft probably isn’t the issue then…
Well, it’s about time Minecraft was blamed for something other than robbing children in Christian families of their “bible time”…
These games these days!! Teaching kids how to find their parent’s unlocked-up firearms! It’s an epidemic!
How is minecraft even remotely violent, that kid must have issues if all he took it from it was weapons, considering it’s a mainly game to do with building and creativity. Secondly minecraft doesn’t even have guns nor knives, (theres swords but knives and swords are two different things) unless the father had mods.
I think the father should and would be arrested for these reasons 1. The child had access to guns and bullets which should be kept in a safe 2. how did he not notice these things missing i understand a knife but a sledgehammer and a gun COME ON!! 3. he didnt check his son before he left for school which every parents should do. 4. didnt even check minecraft or his facts before stating it i can understand a sword and knife getting confused but a FUKING HAMMER TO DIG even videogame logic dosent have that much of a gap. 5. i watched the video for this