CS player murders 16
In one worst shootings in German history, a 17-year-old teenager, armed with his father’s Beretta 9 mm automatic pistol, gunned down several former classmates and town residents in cold blood. At the end of the rampage, 16 people lay dead. Sadly, it’s been learned that the video game Counter Strike may have had an influence in the killer’s chosen method of violence.
Early on Wednesday, in the town of Winnendan, near Stuttgart, Tim Kretschmer stormed his former school and began shooting. Dressed in black combat fatigues and a gas mask reminiscent of a Counter Strike video game avatar, Kretschmer shot to death ten students and three teachers. Each of them were killed with a shot to the head. Students fled the scene when the shooting started. The three teachers were killed in a vain attempt at shielding their charges.
Tim Kretschmer could have drawn inspiration from the video game Counter Strike.
Kretschmer then fled the school, shooting and killing several bystanders as he made his way out of town. Among the victims were a gardner at a psychiatric hospital and two people at a car show room. The teenager evaded police for two hours. Kretschmer hijacked a vehicle at gun point and eventually ended up in the town of Wendlingen. There at a supermarket parking lot, Kretschmer took his own life during a shoot out with police.
One of the unfortunate facts about this tragic incident is the possibility that Counter Strike may have had a role in influencing the manner in which Kreshmer carried out his acts of violence. According to the Associated Press, a 17-year-old who would give only his first name, Aki, said he had been studying with Kretschmer and that the two of them played Counter Strike together. Asked about Kretschmer’s skill at Counter Strike, Aki replied “he was good.”
Many townspeople were left reeling in the aftermath of the shooting.
The debate on video game violence has emerged as a hot button issue with growing calls, particularly from politicians, to have such games severely restricted if not outright banned. This incident will fuel the fires of that debate once again.
From the Associated Press via Game Politics.
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Well, he may have played CS but in contrast to the rampage in erfurt a few years ago the game was not in the middle point of view, even in Erfurt CS had no real influence on the teenager.
Tim K. was mentally ill and and under psychiatric treatment. Even if the game had an effect, that is only due to failure of his parents and social workers. A game would never haven such an impact on a healthy person.
He was good, so was he mad cause he got worse?