Judge forbids student from violent games after social media shooting threat

A 16-year-old high school student has been ordered not to play violent video games after he made a school-shooting threat on social media.

According to a report in the Chicago Tribune, the unnamed minor was arrested after he responded with irritation to the recent intense debate about guns and school safety, following the murder of 17 students and teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

The sophomore, a male student at Lake Park High School in suburban Chicago, posted a Snapchat video of himself playing a shooting game. In the clip, he wrote: “Y’all need to shut up about school shootings or I’ll do one.”

On Monday, police responded to a fellow student’s report of the message and arrested the teenager. Following a search of his home, the police said no weapons were found.

After a night in a juvenile facility, the student appeared in DuPage County juvenile court, and was charged with felony disorderly conduct. His public defender said the comment was a joke. Prosecutors noted that the boy had become “annoyed” by conversations about school shootings, but contended that they were not an appropriate subject for jokes.

Judge Robert Anderson let the teenager’s parents take him back home, but on indefinite home detention. He also ordered that the boy’s cell phone be turned over to his parents, and banned him from playing violent video games.

“You can play all the Mario Kart you want,” Anderson said.

According to the Tribune, “further information about the charges was not immediately available from the DuPage County state’s attorney’s office.”