Spoiled disprectful kid + irresponsible firearm owner = trouble.

I believe that video games can somewhat have an effect on young kids, but I doubt this shooting is the result of him playing Halo until he was blue in the face. There had to be something wrong in this kids mind to shoot his parents.

Hmmm.....very interesting.
Would definitely have to agree that the parenting is a big part of it.
A Pastor huh
Even more interesting.
Would guess the kid was rebelling from the (what I would guess) strict rules of the household On the flip side, you can give your all as a parent, and somethings you just can't prevent. My Pastors son just had a child out of wed lock. Believe me, he was NOT raised that way. Our Pastor would not marry my wife and I, even though she grew up in that church, because we lived together already.
The more I think about it, I believe media/video games can have an influence on behavior, but only to the extent that the person allows it to.
A normal, well adjusted individual would never blow away his parents over any game....
and another one just might.
Either way, I definitely think there was a lot more going on in that house and in that kid'* world than just video games.


You got a link to the article???

It'* also human nature to blame the quickest easiest thing for events and activities we do not understand.

We don't understand why this kid had the notion to shoot his parents, the quickest explanation is, well, he shoots in the video game, so it must be why he shot his parents. I'm sure there were several things that led to this, but I stand by my previous post

spoiled disrespectful kid + irresponsible firearm owner = trouble.

Unfortunantly no. I typed the whole thing up reading it out of the paper.

But yeah, it'* odd he lashed out like that, I don't think it has to do with him being raised in a religious family, I myself think it'* more geared toward the game'* fault and the way TV is anymore. Think about it guys, try to take a game away from a game addict, see what happens. My aunt ended up with a broken nose when she took my cousin'* SNES away back in 1994.

Ok hold on. I am 24, and I grew up playing gory video-games, watching movies, and television shows with tons of violence and I would NEVER think of blowing away my parents, or anyone else for that matter. Obviously there was soemthing wrong in this kids head, and like I said before, I highly doubt this is due to Halo. Nobody knows the background of this kid, or his parents. With his father being a pastor, I'm sure rules were very strict, and that there were consiquences for breaking them. Now, I'm not in a super religous family, but I can imagine how it would be. Not saying it'* anyone elses fault, but there is definetly something more to this other than video games/tv and whatnot. I think there might have been a few screws loose in this kids head.

And another thing, as a parent, why in the hell would you have a loaded gun in your home where your children know where it'* at? That'* just rediculous. To have a gun is one thing, but never have it loaded, or have the bullets anywhere near the gun. The gun shoulda been locked up where the kid never knew where it was. That right there is the parents fault.

I still think it'* really a case by cases basis.
I grew up on video games, had pretty much every system there is at one time or another.
Currently have a Wii, PS2, two computers and the kids have a video game system (V Flash)
Only things that get much use are the computers, and not for gaming.
If the kid wouldn't have been playing Halo, he would probably been addicted to something else. Gaming was more than likely his escape form reality.
Some people play games, some do drugs or drink, some read, some pray, and all sorts of other things to get away form their problems, whether they are real or perceived.
Obviously the kid had a lot going on.
I don't think you can point your finger at any one particular event that caused the shooting.
That fight over the game was just a "breaking point"

On a side note, now that I have young kids, I do not have games like that in the house, nor do I watch violent television when they are around.
I'm not taking any chances, just in case

I never said that if he plays the game, he will shoot them. What I am saying is that over a prolonged period of time, a person'* mind CAN be altered with what they are doing. FOr example, if a child plays a shooting game for a X amount of time over a prolonged period of time, his mind CAN be altered to the point where if he cracks, he can hurt someone. This is quite a feasible thing that CAN happen to some people, but not all.

I mean really, I did grow up with many games in the house, but never any shooting games like Halo, etc. I did grow up with mario and such, and they DID alter my mind for a short time, and I was extremely addicted to them, and my mom had to take me to get help, as I would get violent when they were taken away.

I'll agree to that in principal, but one must be able to distinguish between real and fantasy.

I think we all pretty much agree that it is not as simple as
"I played Halo so now I want to kill someone"
But yes, over exposure to "anythign" can have a negative effect.
Heck, trying interrupting a sports fan during "the big game"
You may experience some violence.
I guess the bottom line is that the game probably contributed, but was not THE cause.