Xbox Live threat leads to criminal charges

  • By Polybren, GameSpot
  • Posted Dec 13, 2007 1:31 pm PT

Supposed jokes about school shootings have been getting kids in trouble for years, but some people just haven't been getting the message. The latest such incident involves a 19-year-old Frostburg State University student who allegedly threatened to shoot up the Maryland school during an online...

Supposed jokes about school shootings have been getting kids in trouble for years, but some people just haven't been getting the message. The latest such incident involves a 19-year-old Frostburg State University student who allegedly threatened to shoot up the Maryland school during an online Call of Duty 4 match over Xbox Live, according to a Cumberland Times-News report.

The student was taken from the school in handcuffs on Tuesday and charged with two misdemeanor counts of disrupting a school operation, and could face up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $5,000. He is currently on an interim suspension until FSU has a chance to conduct an administrative hearing into the matter.

Police first got involved in the matter when one of the student's opponents based in Oregon called up the Frostburg Police Department to report a school shooting threat. Schools in the area were placed under "lock-in" status, students were notified of the situation through e-mail, and police worked with Microsoft and the teen's Internet service provider to trace the threat back to his dorm room.

A search of the room turned up no weapons, and the teen told authorities that he had no intention of following through with the threat.

407 Comments

  • op13

    Posted Mar 2, 2008 4:35 pm PT

    I hate this when idiots go online and say stuff like this, its just stupid and makes the rest of the people, like me , who play xbl look bad. Its unfaif, just plain unfair.

  • Cahal6

    Posted Jan 12, 2008 2:51 pm PT

    You have got to be kidding me,the kid who did this was probably just saying that after he had gotten beaten pretty bad by the other one,then again no reason to take chances I guess.

  • XenoGearZ_XZ

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 5:42 pm PT

    whats the big deal...i know its nothing to joke about...if they live in the same city, then fine arrest his ass, but if the guy lives in one state/country, and the other guy in another, then there is no big deal about this, personally id call the kid who ratted him out...a rat, unless like i said they lived close to each other...if they did not, what a dumb kid who called the cops, he should stay away from playing on the internet if he takes comments like these serious, cuz christ, i say **** like the, who here has never heard **** like that, or hasnt been threatened...if u havent, then u havent been a gamer for long enough..most of the threats are all in good fun "im gonna kill u _____" could mean in game ya never know? "im gonna rape ur dog and blah blah" thats other stupid comments that u have to deal with, christ its game there is bound to be **** like that said on live..get over it...go play nintendo wii if u cant stand the harrassment...damn whiners.

  • xployt268

    Posted Jan 4, 2008 9:26 pm PT

    thats stupid

  • alanwarner

    Posted Jan 4, 2008 5:59 pm PT

    I think that kid should be sent to a re-habilitation center

  • ScottishPrik

    Posted Jan 2, 2008 10:42 am PT

    Just a slight over reaction. Only in yanksville this was said anywhere else no one would give a s**t Typical hillbillies

  • JaggedEdge2KX

    Posted Dec 28, 2007 7:07 pm PT

    Throw the book at him. Give him the maximum sentence.

  • FootFetish10toe

    Posted Dec 28, 2007 10:53 am PT

    DUHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Infinite-Zr0

    Posted Dec 22, 2007 5:16 am PT

    News like this need to have more exposure, to stop these idiots.

  • S_Pac_316

    Posted Dec 18, 2007 1:13 pm PT

    Well hopefully this'll shut all those punks up on XBL now.

  • FearNinja

    Posted Dec 18, 2007 11:34 am PT

    My guess is that the opponent in Oregon got mad that he lost and found a legitimate way to get back at the student by calling the Frostburg police. Yay for sore losers right?

  • Zoomer30

    Posted Dec 18, 2007 3:12 am PT

    Wow...they are growing them DUMB down on the farm these days. Once again....do we need any more reasons for why all the millions of ETs out there dont bother to stop by??

  • Rippletonz

    Posted Dec 17, 2007 5:09 pm PT

    Here's the bottom line:

    You CANNOT talk about shooting up a school, period. It's never going to be funny; just don't say it. If you get caught saying something like that, don't be surprised when some smelly fat cops come to your room and cuff you on your bed (they're dirty like that). HOWEVER, the quickness and severity to which they responded to this is ridiculous compared to their blob stance on other crimes (they love vegging out in their cars and radar gunning us on the highway - it's low impact on their fat guts). The kid definitely needed to be contacted, possibly detained for awhile and talked to so they could determine how genuine the threat really was. At this point, the safety police could produce the same positive impact if they let the kid off with a $101 fine and NO JAIL TIME. Our justice system is all about making an example out of this kid but the punishment is NOT proportional to the crime and it's just not fair.

  • orionthescorpio

    Posted Dec 17, 2007 10:48 am PT

    Stupid is as stupid does.

  • glhx1rush

    Posted Dec 17, 2007 10:45 am PT

    And Nintendo wants to ad VC to the Wii........... this is going to be good.....

  • WeWerePirates

    Posted Dec 17, 2007 9:53 am PT

    Freedom of speech anyone? Taking the threat seriously I can understand but the subsequent heavy handed treatment to make an example out of him is just wrong.

    It sounds like it was stupid to say what he said but does he really deserve to have his life ruined because of it?

  • gameplayer1993

    Posted Dec 17, 2007 8:51 am PT

    I think it's unfair on Microsoft - they've tried their best to make Xbox Live the safest they could, with family settings and whatnot... and for somebody to spoil it by putting something like that into a conversation deserves the punishment... Some people say they took it too far in searching his dorm room... but better safe than sorry eh?

  • Azhar85

    Posted Dec 17, 2007 7:13 am PT

    just banned it from xbox live...hahaha.....m$ will never learn...the true art of modding...

  • rudyroundhead

    Posted Dec 17, 2007 6:52 am PT

    Quite possibly the best act of self ownage in 2007!

  • brianpoetzel

    Posted Dec 17, 2007 6:12 am PT

    @bmanva: Would you prefer that the cops wait until he shoots up his school before they investigate him?

  • bmanva

    Posted Dec 17, 2007 5:16 am PT

    Great! good to know that our tax payers money is being put to good use investigating what some college kid SUPPOSELY said online rather than being use to solve REAL murders.

  • cheesetaco23

    Posted Dec 16, 2007 10:33 pm PT

    Are you all crazy? what has our country come to? He's being charged for 5000 dollars and facing a year in prison for a comment that he made. This is a total over-reaction. The kid who reported him should see what its like to spend a year in jail. That year in jail is going to change his life. Even if he doesnt go to jail it will change his life. All of his classes are screwed up. Hes going to be behind Academicly and his friends will be in different classes, he's gonna have to wait until next semester to return to school. This is terrible.

  • padrenes86

    Posted Dec 16, 2007 9:41 pm PT

    this kid is a dope, he deserves what he's getting.

  • futs22

    Posted Dec 16, 2007 8:52 pm PT

    Serves him right. There are so many "netizens" who get away with saying all sorts of sh** to other people because they're hiding behind an online persona. It's about time someone got some sh** thrown back in their face for saying some sh** online.

  • QuakeOne

    Posted Dec 16, 2007 7:48 pm PT

    again i imagine everything has already been said but Wow!!! I know that some people almost act out of character on Xbox Live because like everyones said you are hidden and can say what you like without repercussions. With a story like this it's really going to make a lot of people think about how they handle themselves online and that can only be a good thing but still.....wow thats a pretty crazy story!

  • BritSamurai

    Posted Dec 16, 2007 6:47 pm PT

    He's just another moron guy on Xbox Live who curses out other people in a game that is supposed to be for fun....he was just the one that went too far and got caught.

  • epormada

    Posted Dec 16, 2007 6:28 pm PT

    It would have been funny to be there when the authorities came busting through this guy's door and he started pissing his pants.

  • rokkuman09

    Posted Dec 16, 2007 5:49 pm PT

    I only have one thing to say.... owned!

  • PacoL250

    Posted Dec 16, 2007 3:10 pm PT

    To add to what I said as well, was the punishment justified? Probably not, so expect it to get dropped down plenty.

  • PacoL250

    Posted Dec 16, 2007 3:08 pm PT

    @Corvin: "Wow talk about overreacting. While jokers are busy messing with people on Xbox Live, the REAL dangerous people are out there silently planning whatever it is dangerous people plan. Good to know the authorities can tell the difference between internet #&^$ talkers looking for shock value, and real criminals. I feel safer already."

    I don't understand why people gave this point so many thumbs down. It's a valid point. However, you also can't ignore the possibility of anything that is threatening of this nature. Yes, perhaps other criminals have a higher priority, but that is not to say that idiot pranksters who haven't grown up get a free pass.

    Every action one takes has a reaction to it. This person should have realized and should have known better.

  • berzerk0912

    Posted Dec 16, 2007 10:36 am PT

    it's about time they start cracking down on these losers.

  • hongkingkong

    Posted Dec 16, 2007 2:49 am PT

    Freedom of speech, no matter how stupid it is. I'd like to see someone in the UK try and arrest someone over comments which are perfectly legal.
    Funny how MS haven't tracked down ILLEGAL racist jokers which i swear i heard everyday on live when i played it. Maybe this inquest is bias?

  • TheMudora

    Posted Dec 16, 2007 1:00 am PT

    Good riddance...he deserved it. With all of the shooting now, they were right to do what they did. He could have made a racist joke, or something dumb...but he went for this. Idiots deserve to be pwnd by officials.

  • 345669

    Posted Dec 16, 2007 12:58 am PT

    Deserves what he gets. there should definitely be more monitoring to stop people like this making threats.

  • matty_sen

    Posted Dec 15, 2007 5:45 pm PT

    man almost ever 1 here as been a brain wash victom of the conformaty, just cuz u dnt step in-line dosnt mean a 5000 dolla bill and a year in prison

  • matty_sen

    Posted Dec 15, 2007 5:37 pm PT

    jesus christ, there taking it to far, is a joke not a threat, hundreds of people say things on youtube like "your ganna die if u dont read this" .
    and if he was trying to "scare people though lying" maybe people that young (or gullible) shouldn't be on games like call of duty or chatting with every one in the game online.
    yer people like these are idiots and really piss me off but who are even more idiototic are the people who believe them

  • shinchy

    Posted Dec 15, 2007 4:38 pm PT

    A year in Prison and $5000 fine... WTF!!!
    I mean yeh the guy was a **** idiot, ban his account etc. But all he did was say some things; it doesn't mean **** and theres no **** way you should have to goto jail for saying something. I thought there was a thing called freedom of speech, no matter how stupid it is.

  • Faustulus

    Posted Dec 15, 2007 2:51 pm PT

    It is good to know people whose entertainment is under constant assault by anti-first amendment adovcates, would take such a dim view of the very constitutional clause which protects them.

  • Xenojobeia

    Posted Dec 15, 2007 12:21 pm PT

    Fighting on the internet is like the special olympics even if u win ur still a retard

  • poe94

    Posted Dec 15, 2007 11:15 am PT

    I hate people like that. They talk trash over live and they are really losers in real life, LMAO.

  • brianpoetzel

    Posted Dec 15, 2007 8:47 am PT

    And keep in mind that 1 year in jail and 5,000 fine is the maximum. Once they're sure he didn't mean it they'll let him go with a slap on the wrist.

  • brianpoetzel

    Posted Dec 15, 2007 8:43 am PT

    @tomjontee: I hate to break it to you but if you go around telling people you'll blow up a government building, you'll get arrested for it if the cops find out. With stuff as serious as that the cops need to treat you like you mean what you say until they can prove you aren't a threat. ---

    How would you feel if the cops knew about a threat and thought it was a joke. A few days later that guy kills your family in a bombing or shooting. I gaurentee you'll want answers as to why this guy wasn't taken seriously.

  • Soxguy09

    Posted Dec 15, 2007 6:35 am PT

    Wow, I guess that kid wishes he didnt say that in a match.

  • Jconwa

    Posted Dec 15, 2007 1:44 am PT

    Not that I'm saying its right what he said, but isn't this against his 1st Amendment right to the freedom of speech?

  • URUCAN

    Posted Dec 14, 2007 11:04 pm PT

    I'm surprise on how they quickly arest this huy , that was making a joke ,,, but they are not hable to stop the guys that are really going to do those thinks ,, and that they post those kind of stuf on youtube ,facebook for months.

  • ockman

    Posted Dec 14, 2007 10:57 pm PT

    people need to start seeing the real picture here though, and how unfair our law system is. going to jail = instant butt rape sentence unless you're some burly guy who can defend themselves in jail.

    So I feel sorry for him, cuz saying something out of anger online, towards the idiots on xbox live, who do purposely try to bring out the worst in people, should not land someone an instant butt rape sentence. Shouldn't be the price for just not be able to control his outburst on an internet game.

  • MattGPA78

    Posted Dec 14, 2007 10:17 pm PT

    This guy was an idiot and he deserves whatever punishment he gets. Plain and simple.

  • cloudff7tm

    Posted Dec 14, 2007 6:45 pm PT

    People shouldn't joke about stuff that serious. He got what he deserved.

  • tomjontee

    Posted Dec 14, 2007 6:24 pm PT

    This is ridiculous, if I tell you I'm going to blow up a government building it doesn't mean I'm actually going to do it! Jailing a 19 year old for one stupid, insensitive comment could potentially ruin the guys life. Plus using him as a scape goat is pointless in this case as it will do absolutely nothing to help the problem of online abuse.

    Having said that I hate it when you get kids online shouting and swearing, it's a sad reflection on the amount of respect this generation is being brought up with.

  • zombey1333

    Posted Dec 14, 2007 6:10 pm PT

    There are two things you don't mess with: Football and schools. Boy got what his idiot brain earned him.

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