Canadian (BC) gamer's actions may have averted school shooting in San Antonio

[Cry Havoc]

http://www.vancouversun.com/life/gamer+alerts+police+prevent+high+school+shooting/2562018/story.html

VICTORIA — A conversation a B.C. man had online with a stranger while playing an Xbox game raised some alarm bells, and the man’s quick thinking may have averted a high school shooting in Texas, police say.

The Port Alberni, B.C., resident was playing a video game online Thursday that included a chat feature, allowing participants to talk to each other.

A conversation started with one player who spoke about being a high school senior who was failing academically. The chat then took a more ominous turn as the student detailed plans to take part in a shooting at his school the following day.

“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,” said Port Alberni RCMP Staff Sgt. Lee Omilusik.

The Port Alberni man started questioning the high school student and the conversation abruptly ended.

But the brief encounter was sufficiently disturbing that the man immediately contacted Port Alberni RCMP who, despite limited information about possible locations, started a cyber investigation.

RCMP contacted Microsoft Law Enforcement Security and their investigators were able to identify the computer through a numeric code and concluded the suspect was in San Antonio, Texas.

The information was passed to San Antonio police department and their investigation led to the arrest of a teenage suspect, who now faces charges.

“This incident demonstrates the power of the electronic world and how different enforcement agencies can quickly work together to protect the citizens they serve, regardless of obstacles such as international barriers,” Omilusik said.

“In this case, the suspect was quickly arrested and no one was hurt thanks to the information received from a concerned citizen.”

It is a reminder to the public to report any suspicious activities to police as their information may save a life, Omilusik said.

Port Alberni is about 200 kilometres northwest of Victoria.

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

[koriwhat]

crazy

[MiamiHeat]

ok, wait a second

do they have any actual proof that the kid was going to do something?

this better not be a "i heard a guy saying x on this game i was playing" situation. the police arrested the kid and threw charges at him.

what evidence do they have that it was real and not just shit talking?

[I. Hustle]

Hell half of Spurstalk could be arrested according to how this went down.
Did the kid even have any guns at home?

[bus driver]

A terroristic threat is a crime generally involving a threat to commit violence communicated with the intent to terrorize another, to cause evacuation of a building, or to cause serious public inconvenience, in reckless disregard of the risk of causing such terror or inconvenience. It may mean an offense against property or involving danger to another person that may include but is not limited to recklessly endangering another person, harassment, stalking, ethnic intimidation, and criminal mischief.

The following is an example of a Texas statute dealing with terroristic threats:

TERRORISTIC THREAT

(a) A person commits an offense if he threatens to commit any offense involving violence to any person or property with intent to:

1.cause a reaction of any type to his threat[s] by an official or volunteer agency organized to deal with emergencies;
2.place any person in fear of imminent serious bodily injury;
3.prevent or interrupt the occupation or use of a building; room; place of assembly; place to which the public has access; place of employment or occupation; aircraft, automobile, or other form of conveyance; or other public place;
4.cause impairment or interruption of public communications, public transportation, public water, gas, or power supply or other public service;
5.place the public or a substantial group of the public in fear of serious bodily injury; or
6.influence the conduct or activities of a branch or agency of the federal government, the state, or a political subdivision of the state

[EmptyMan]

pwned

[timvp]

Port Alberni is about 200 kilometres northwest of Victoria.The city of narcs.

[Cry Havoc]

ok, wait a second

do they have any actual proof that the kid was going to do something?

this better not be a "i heard a guy saying x on this game i was playing" situation. the police arrested the kid and threw charges at him.

what evidence do they have that it was real and not just shit talking?

You're right. They should have just dismissed it as "kids being kids". Nothing bad has ever come of that.

You really have issues dealing with basic common sense, dude.

[thispego]

Hell half of Spurstalk could be arrested according to how this went down.
Did the kid even have any guns at home?


ok, wait a second

do they have any actual proof that the kid was going to do something?

this better not be a "i heard a guy saying x on this game i was playing" situation. the police arrested the kid and threw charges at him.

what evidence do they have that it was real and not just shit talking?

lol. morons :rolleyes

[MiamiHeat]

You're right. They should have just dismissed it as "kids being kids". Nothing bad has ever come of that.

You really have issues dealing with basic common sense, dude.

You're right. They should just arrest anyone accused of hearsay from videogames and charge them with crimes without any evidence. Nothing bad has ever come of that.

You really have issues dealing with basic common sense, dude.

[resistanze]

Well considering the dude in B.C. knew the names of the people the guy in S.A. planned to target...

[I. Hustle]

I am in 100% agreement with MiamiHeat on this one. Anyone who disagrees is an idiot.

[tp2021]

Arguments aside, I'd say the B.C. man did the right thing. If you want to get upset over whether or not the arrest was justified, take that up with the cops. The dude who contacted police shouldn't be the one bearing the brunt of the hate IMO. If the kid really was gonna kill people, the B.C. man saved lives. if the kid wasn't, then the onus is on the cops for unjustly arresting him.

[I. Hustle]

lol the B.C man. Was he an old testament dude or just before the birth?

For real though the guy did the right thing. You have to be a real cawksucker to believe I agree with MiamiHeat on anything.

[mrsmaalox]

Here's the local link:

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/Teen_arrested_for_threatening_school_shooting.html


Teen arrested for threatening school shooting

By Michelle Mondo - Express-News

A Marshall High School student was arrested and suspended from school after police were alerted by Canadian authorities that the boy told other online gamers playing Modern Warfare 2 that he wanted to shoot people at his school.

On Feb. 4, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police contacted San Antonio Police and told them they had a report of a teen here who talked with other players online about “shooting up a school in Texas,” while the group played the game on an Xbox 360 system that allowed for verbal communication, the police report said.

During the game, the teen, 16, said he planned on getting guns from a friend in the Marines and would “shoot a pregnant girl at school and shoot his best friend in the face,” the report said. The boy also mentioned that because SWAT may be on the scene within 10 minutes, they would have to aim for the head.

A player from Port Alberni, British Columbia, called police there who then called Microsoft, which located the teen here, according to a story in the Vancouver Sun.

Pascual Gonzalez, a spokesman for Northside Independent School District, said the boy and his mother met with the high school principal and said authorities searched the boy's locker and found nothing.

“The boy was very remorseful and very scared,” Gonzalez said. “We believe that the boy truly was sorry for what he was doing, but in this day and age you have to take all of these kinds of verbal statements, these verbal threats, very seriously and he's going to have to learn that the hard way.”

The student was suspended and is not allowed to return to Marshall. When contacted at his home, the teen said he didn't want to comment.

San Antonio Police spokesman Matthew Porter said the investigation began as soon as they got the call from Canadian authorities.

“We take these types of crimes very seriously,” he said.

Because the teen is a juvenile, the department did not release the boy's name but confirmed he was arrested on a charge of “false alarm or report.” The crime is committed when a person “knowingly initiates, communicates, or circulates a report of a present, past or future, bombing, fire, offense or other emergency that he knows is false or baseless” that would cause action by authorities, put a person in fear of imminent danger or prevent or disrupt an occupation of a building, according to the Texas criminal code.

Because it involved a school, the charge is a state jail felony instead of a misdemeanor.

Gonzalez said the case could serve as a reminder to parents to talk to their children and be aware of what they are doing while online.

[DarkReign]

lol the B.C man. Was he an old testament dude or just before the birth?

B.C. = British Columbia, a province of Canada for you southern vatos.

[I. Hustle]

B.C. = British Columbia, a province of Canada for you southern vatos.

I knew what it stood for I was yust yoking.

[DarkReign]

I knew what it stood for I was yust yoking.

Joo win, mane.

[MiamiHeat]

You realize how many people should be in jail right now LOL

all of the shit talking that goes on in MW2 and ANY game online. holy smokes.

[Oneton]

You realize how many people should be in jail right now LOL

all of the shit talking that goes on in MW2 and ANY game online. holy smokes.

It's one thing to talk shit about the person you are playing against but if you pissed me off with one of your faggy stories or comments I am not going to say "Ohyeah?! Well I am going to go to school tomorrow and shoot up the place!". You see how that works? You see how retarded you are?

[Pero]

It's one thing to talk shit about the person you are playing against but if you pissed me off with one of your faggy stories or comments I am not going to say "Ohyeah?! Well I am going to go to school tomorrow and shoot up the place!". You see how that works? You see how retarded you are?

One of my schoolmates once talked about how he would break the head of one of his former school teacher's because she wouldn't let him pass an exam for a long time. This was just anger talking, he wouldn't actually do it. But it seems that according to you guys, that's enough cause to get him arrested.

So now they kicked him out of school instead of getting him some help? That's just wonderful. The next thing you know he'll come back and shoot a couple students and you'll be asking why he wasn't put in prison. :rolleyes

[MiamiHeat]

One of my schoolmates once talked about how he would break the head of one of his former school teacher's because she wouldn't let him pass an exam for a long time. This was just anger talking, he wouldn't actually do it. But it seems that according to you guys, that's enough cause to get him arrested.

So now they kicked him out of school instead of getting him some help? That's just wonderful. The next thing you know he'll come back and shoot a couple students and you'll be asking why he wasn't put in prison. :rolleyes

http://www.crunchgear.com/wp-content/photos/thinking_man.gif

:toast

[xXx]

say what you mean and mean what you say.

[duhoh]

Well considering the dude in B.C. knew the names of the people the guy in S.A. planned to target...

yes.

if it was just "yo dawg, i herd this foo was trynin cap some otha punks in SA dawg" then hearsay is stupid to act on.

but since the kid went and named specific individuals, that's not just hearsay. this kid threatened pre-meditated murder. he thought that crap out.

common fellas, better safe than sorry.

[Shaolin-Style]

Achievement unlocked: Snitch

But this is a good snitching, I've had failing grades before too, hell I have them now, but I just work harder to make up for my stupidity, not killing people cause of my inequities.

[MiamiHeat]

They probably egged the kid on, made him say shit he didn't mean

"I bet you're a pussy, you couldn't do that" *lobby laughing at kid*

"Yes I could, i'll fuck you up"

"yeah? well, who would you kill if you could?"

"x and x and x"




They should just scare the kid, send him to therapy and counseling, and warn him of the trouble he almost got into.

[TwAnKiEs]

Maybe he was trying to up his K/D ratio? :makemyday