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[llien]

A 13-year-old girl in Mississippi has died after allegedly being shot by her nine-year-old brother over a video game, police say.

They said the boy grabbed a gun on Saturday afternoon after his sister would not give up the controller.

He allegedly shot her from behind, and the bullet entered her brain.

A local sheriff announced on Sunday that the teen had died of her injuries in a Memphis hospital. It was unclear how the boy obtained the gun.

It is also unclear what consequences the nine-year-old will face.

"He's just nine," Monroe County Sheriff Cecil Cantrell told the Clarion Ledger.

"I assume he's seen this on video games or TV. I don't know if he knew exactly what this would do. I can't answer that. I do know it's a tragedy."

The children's mother was in another room, feeding other children lunch at the time of the incident.

Police are still investigating the circumstances of the shooting, including how the weapon - a .25 calibre handgun - was accessed.

"This is all new ground for us, we've never dealt with a kid shooting a kid at age nine," Sheriff Cantrell told local press.

BBC


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[The_Mike]

This ain’t the guns fault though, but the computer game.

/s

Or a lack of the parents accountability

 

[amg986]

Of course this is not the gun´s fault. In my country this does not happen, mostly because we have no access to guns. I can´t believe the negative press that videogames get. None of my friends who play videogames often are even a bit violent.

 

[nowhat]

None of my friends who play videogames often are even a bit violent.

Oh I dunno. Getting that blue shell in Mario Kart when you're just about to cross the finish line does make me want to hit something.

 

[ehead]

Wow. What are the odds? Tragic death that could've been avoided by good parenting. I mean, come on. How the heck does a 9 year old get a gun?

 

[Algorum]

This ain’t gonna fly well with ignorant politicians, etc.

Hopefully most people don’t make a big scene out of this severely unfortunate event as the blame should obviously go to whoever was paying attention to the 9 year old at the time.

Like not to sound controversial or whatever but I think a deep investigation should be directed towards the family and friends as this sounds very suspicious to me.

 

[Codes 208]

This ain’t the guns fault though, but the computer game.

Or a lack of the parents accountability

Well one thing is for sure. This wouldnt have happened if either a)
They didnt have a gun. Or b)
They did a better job of securing it.

But of course games are gonna get sheeped into this again because people dont like to take their own responsibilities into account.

 

[gloone]

This ain’t the guns fault though

It's really really really hard to shoot someone without a gun. Trust me, I've tried.

 

[Airola]

Of course this is not the gun´s fault. In my country this does not happen, mostly because we have no access to guns. I can´t believe the negative press that videogames get. None of my friends who play videogames often are even a bit violent.

Sooo... If people in your country had access to guns this would happen then? People become violent when they have access to guns?

Well one thing is for sure. This wouldnt have happened if either a)
They didnt have a gun. Or b)
They did a better job of securing it.

But of course games are gonna get sheeped into this again because people dont like to take their own responsibilities into account.

Well yeah, the death by a gunshot wouldn't have happened.
But maybe the kid would've killed with a kitchen knife then.
I mean, he had the intention to harm his sister so would the gun being unavailable somehow lessened his will to harm his sister?

 

[Refreshment.01]

Did videogames had some sort of influence over the child's behavior? Quite possible.

Should videogames be the main focus of this unfortunate event? No.

There are too many factors at play here, focusing only in just 1 is rather ignorant. If what is written in the first post is a piece of the article then it was handled in a very manipulative way, very dangerous.

 

[phil_t98]

o

Sooo... If people in your country had access to guns this would happen then? People become violent when they have access to guns?




Well yeah, the death by a gunshot wouldn't have happened.
But maybe the kid would've killed with a kitchen knife then.
I mean, he had the intention to harm his sister so would the gun being unavailable somehow lessened his will to harm his sister?

the end of the day if you have access to a gun it can be used, no access no person shot. the fact you bring up a knife is subjective as this is yet another gun related death, but the game will be at fault not the ability to have access to guns so easy

 

[MilkyJoe]

Sooo... If people in your country had access to guns this would happen then? People become violent when they have access to guns?




Well yeah, the death by a gunshot wouldn't have happened.
But maybe the kid would've killed with a kitchen knife then.
I mean, he had the intention to harm his sister so would the gun being unavailable somehow lessened his will to harm his sister?

 

[God Enel]

Take the kids away from the parents. How can a 9 year old kid have access to a gun? What the fuck?

 

[Blam]

Why wasn't this gun in a gun locker and in a gun locker that the kid doesn't know the password to.

 

[Gormless Noodle]

Sooo... If people in your country had access to guns this would happen then? People become violent when they have access to guns?




Well yeah, the death by a gunshot wouldn't have happened.
But maybe the kid would've killed with a kitchen knife then.
I mean, he had the intention to harm his sister so would the gun being unavailable somehow lessened his will to harm his sister?

Yes, it probably would happen then. Since the ability to do so has lodged itself into the person's brain. It simply becomes a possible course of action.

As for the knife...that 9 year old boy is extremely unlikely to be physically on par with his 13 year old sister. That 9 year old is also (very likely) not able to instantly kill anyone with a knife, is he? Or any other regular household item you could fashion as a weapon. He COULD, but him understanding how to hit vitals effectively and apply the needed force for that, seems like a BIT of a stretch, right?

I get it though, you don't want your guns taken away and I won't advocate for that since that's an American problem that Americans will have to find a solution to if they want to. But that doesn't really change the facts of the situation.

 

[Phoenix RISING]

It's really really really hard to shot someone without a gun. Trust me, I've tried.

I did the DBZ-style ki blast, on handed, in a relative's face everyday since Vegeta sent that white-haired Ginyu Force dude to the next dimension. Up until about 2008.

I was once asked the question, what will I do if I'm actually successful? I don't believe I ever will be.

I don't really have any thing to say about the topic at hand forreal. There are many errors. Not just the child access to a gun, but the child was never properly trained on managing their temper, common decency of taking turns, or Consequences killing someone.

As a father of 3 I just shake my head at this story.

 

[GTR R35_Supra RZ]

the end of the day if you have access to a gun it can be used, no access no person shit. the fact you bring up a knife is subjective as this is yet another gun related death, but the game will be at fault not the ability to have access to guns so easy

"No access no person shit" goddamn i need translation reading that, got mind @$!#% to no end. You mean no person would bitch about it? ?

"The end of the da..." you mean at the end of the day..

 

[Hulk_Smash]

I spent $350 on a gun safe for a reason. The only two people that know the combination are my wife and I. Same goes with the keys. My girls were taught from day one the rules of gun safety.

1. Never pick up a gun. (This will change when they get much older.)
2. Always treat a gun as if it is loaded.
3. Never point it at someone you don’t intend to shoot.
4. Don’t put your finger on the trigger until you are ready to fire.
5. Guns are for two things only: 1) hunting 2) self defense when your life is threatened.

They can tell you at any time they’re asked what the rules and they can repeat them to you.

This isn’t hard, people. I hope those parents face jail time for what happened here.

 

[Northeastmonk]

I had fights with my sister, but it wasn't this bad. The kid needed to learn how to control his anger and his parents should have locked away the guns.

Any boy is going to enjoy swords, guns, bows, etc because that's how boys and girls are. They see the toys at the toy store and they want a sword and shield. They play nerf and super soaker.

That video game comment wants to be on the same level as Trump. An escape goat when bad parenting is to blame.

 

[Zog]

Wow. What are the odds? Tragic death that could've been avoided by good parenting. I mean, come on. How the heck does a 9 year old get a gun?

I was kinda hoping you would tell us since you have determined that the parents are at fault.

 

[TheShadowLord]

Why wasn't this gun in a gun locker and in a gun locker that the kid doesn't know the password to.

My guess that it is faster for the parent(most likely the father) to retrieve the gun if it was beside him in case of an intruder. Same goes for the gun being already loaded.

 

[Blam]

My guess that it is faster for the parent(most likely the father) to retrieve the gun if it was beside him in case of an intruder. Same goes for the gun being already loaded.

This is completely on the parents fault for keeping a loaded fucking gun in the house.

 

[Airola]

the end of the day if you have access to a gun it can be used, no access no person shit. the fact you bring up a knife is subjective as this is yet another gun related death, but the game will be at fault not the ability to have access to guns so easy

Yes, it probably would happen then. Since the ability to do so has lodged itself into the person's brain. It simply becomes a possible course of action.

As for the knife...that 9 year old boy is extremely unlikely to be physically on par with his 13 year old sister. That 9 year old is also (very likely) not able to instantly kill anyone with a knife, is he? Or any other regular household item you could fashion as a weapon. He COULD, but him understanding how to hit vitals effectively and apply the needed force for that, seems like a BIT of a stretch, right?

I get it though, you don't want your guns taken away and I won't advocate for that since that's an American problem that Americans will have to find a solution to if they want to. But that doesn't really change the facts of the situation.

I'm Finnish and we don't have that kind of a gun problem in Finland, so I'm not arguing for or against taking the guns away. We have had a couple of school shootings and many other killing sprees with guns even though we have very strict gun laws. We basically even couldn't control that by making obtaining guns even harder. In Finland we are basically forced to find other solutions and the core of the problem seems to be social instead of based on guns.

However, I think this is not a black or white issue in either side. If the ability to shoot someone to avoid frustration and get what you want has been lodged into a person's brain, when it has happened and how and why? Simply the existence of guns doesn't do that since the existence of knives or other objects you can use to kill don't do that either. If you feel people are somehow wired to react in this manner then there should be some kind of a reason why it is that way.

In this case the boy did seem to have an uncontrollable frustration out of not being able to have a video game controller. And in this case the boy felt the way to solve this problem is to kill, or at least harm, the sister. So both the problem and the way to solve the problem were completely absurd. Who would get angry about a controller and who would think it's ok to react to it in the manner he did? While the existence of the gun allowed this certain way to solve the problem, we still have to face the fact that the boy had to problem and wanted to use violence to solve it in the first place. Even if there were no guns and even if he would only be able to hurt his sister with a knife or some other object instead of instantly killing her, the deeper problem of a person who gets frustrated over a controller and wants to use violence to make the frustration go away still remains.


While I personally wouldn't ban violent video games or violent movies (probably partly because I have loved playing them and watching them most of my life and wouldn't want both myself and others lose that possibility) I still think it's very much ok to have a discussion of both video game and movie violence and whether they can cause trouble in some people's minds. Just because I like them and just because I haven't been affected by them - or at least I think I haven't been affected by them - it doesn't mean there couldn't be anything wrong with them and it shouldn't be discussed.

 

[Hulk_Smash]

My guess that it is faster for the parent(most likely the father) to retrieve the gun if it was beside him in case of an intruder. Same goes for the gun being already loaded.

There is no excuse for a loaded gun to be accessible by a child. Full stop. Fast access safes are available for purchase for a little more than one without fast access. It takes 2-3 seconds longer to access a loaded gun for self defense. Worth it to keep out of the hands of children.

 

[mckmas8808]

This ain’t the guns fault though, but the computer game.

/s

Or a lack of the parents accountability

BRUH!!!! Exactly! The first and only question is how did he get the gun?

 

[Makariel]

My dad had to take his service weapon home a few times a month when he was on standby (he was police officer). He was making sure the gun was safely locked away in a place I couldn't get in without a bigger gun, and always left it at the station if he didn't have to take it home. Guns might not kill people, but they make it a whole lot easier. It just puzzles me how a 9 year old could get anywhere close to it.

 

[Two Pikachus]

I didn't expect this to be about gun violence when I opened it, but honestly I'm not surprised.

Fucking sloppy parenting to the max - one, your kid shouldn't have access to a firearm; two, he should know what shooting someone in the head does; three, he should have better manners and temper control at age 9.

I don't blame them for being in another room at the time, letting the video games babysit for a while. I get it, you can't be on 100% all the time, especially when you have other children to attend to. But the first three points are inexcusable.

 

[appaws]

Let me just say this as a person who is very pro-2A. Gun safes are required kit, IMO. Even if you don't have kids, it makes it so much harder to steal guns from your house, especially the large and heavy safes that are made to be secured to the floor or a wall stud. It's also a great place to store valuables and important documents.

Even if you only have one pistol that you keep somewhere, they have small biometric safes for less than 200 bucks. Non-biometric ones are cheaper than that. No excuse not to invest in one.

 

[Tumle]

Why are Americans so much against gun control.. not talking about banning guns.. but just strickter gun regulations?
Get your guns in check first and then lets look at the effects of video games!
Also why is a 9 year old kid playing violent video games aimed at adults?
What do the parred do for a kids movie night? Put on a SAW movie?
Makes me sad to think about that poor girl.. and his brother who has to live with what he has done..

 

[visiblemode]

The headlines on this are insane. This has nothing to do with video games. “Petty argument reveals the dangers of guns in the home.” Fixed.

 

[EBE]

I almost bashed my brother's head in with a giant toy dragon when I was a kid (my uncle stopped me) and that was with whatever was at hand, which is what an angry and impetuous kid would do. This kid knew about the gun and went for the gun, yeah? So it's murder. So what could happen? Juvie?

 

[WaterAstro]

Gun control would have prevented this. Negligent gun users that don't lock their guns properly get their shit taken away.

Politicians are just going to blame video games.

 

[ph33rknot]

This ain’t the guns fault though, but the computer game.

/s

Or a lack of the parents accountability

parents accountability this and mostly this

 

[gioGAF]

Everyone is always passing the buck here in the states. How about some personal responsibility? How is this not labelled as negligent parent(s), end of story?

Before anyone gets excited, I am all for keeping guns out of the hands of morons. For example, in this situation, the parent who owns that firearm should be given a "felony" and have their rights to own a firearm permanently rescinded.

 

[Spukc]

i think america should give all sisters guns so they can defend their selves against little brothers with guns.

 

[Zizbuka]

Why are Americans so much against gun control.. not talking about banning guns.. but just strickter gun regulations?

Because we still worship a document written hundreds of years ago. You know, back when you'd own a gun to keep wolves from killing your livestock.

 

[Radical Dreamer]

It's all parents fault. If you can't hide a gun properly from your 9 year old children then don't keep a gun in household at all. What is wrong with people?

 

[royox]

Obviously it totally normal that a 9 years old kid has an easy reach to a god damn gun. It's videogames fault and not that they had a gun.

/s

 

[Android Kuma]

Guns gonna gun.

Maybe we should have random inspections of gun owners to make sure they keep it in a safe area/away from kids. And failing that inspection, they're fined/suspended from having guns for 2 years.

 

[DryvBy]

What are these parents even doing today?

 

[phil_t98]

i think america should give all sisters guns so they can defend their selves against little brothers with guns.

you sir have just won todays internet!

 

[NahaNago]

This is just a sad story altogether. How did the mom not hear I guess the arguing? Why was he able to get the gun so easily? How could he be so unstable to actually leave and get a gun, bring the gun back, and then shoot his sister? Now we have a dead daughter, a truly messed up son, and grieving friends and parents.

 

[waylo]

"He’s just 9. I assume he’s seen this on video games or TV"

My favorite games and TV shows are the ones about executing your siblings when they won't give up the controller.

 

[Kamina]

Where the fuck did a 9 year old find a loaded gun?
This is a massive parental fuckup.
> Having a gun within reach of children
> Having the gun loaded and ready for firing, WITHIN THE REACH OF CHILDREN

And now they are thinking of where he could have picked up how to use one?
> Chances are his father already showed him in the past.

 

[Mooreberg]

This and the Christmas time swatting murder over a $1.35 Call of Duty bet are the saddest "gaming" stories I've heard in some time. But at that age, he wouldn't be charged as more than a minor. Hopefully his life turns around, because the sister is dead, and those parents should be thrown in prison.

 

[InterMusketeer]

Did the gun just not have a safety, or did the 9-year old know how to unlock it? Or did the parents seriously leave a loaded gun ready to fire in the cupboard?

Such a sad story though. Those parents were morons, sure, but they paid a terrible price. The young boy too... Can't imagine how he's gonna end up. And obviously there's the girl, who should've spent some more years on this earth. Just a terrible thing that happened. I'm glad there's no guns around that could facilitate a mistake like this where I live.

 

[chilleverest]

Guess the 9 year older typed a real life cheat code and spawned a gun, just like in video games.

 

[bronk]

This just makes me really sad. Horrible story all around.

 

[Danjin44]

I guess America was right, guns it's great tool for protecting their loved ones and so for its doing fantastic job of that. Even more families should own guns just case of emergency.

 

[alken]

.