A Permian High School student is facing serious charges after threatening to shoot up his school through online gaming on Thursday afternoon.
“The Odessa police department was notified by a video game company called Ubisoft,” said Corporal Steve LeSueur of the Odessa Police Department.
In a matter of two hours, the Odessa Police brought 17-year-old Nicholas Ramsey into custody for questioning, eventually leading to his arrest.
Shea Sitz is the co-owner of a Midland virtual reality arcade and avid gamer.
Sitz says there a plenty of instances in online gaming where people can be disrespectful.
“But cursing at people and you know telling them…well, I’m going to beat you up, I’m going to find where you live, that’s taking it too far too. But people are stupid online and its just something you have to deal with,” said Sitz.
Police say while the teen was playing Rainbow 6 Siege, he said, “I guess I’ll go do mine now” and “Imma shoot up my school now.”
According to OPD, Ramsey said it was a “bad joke” after the school shooting in Florida.
“It’s always better to be safe than sorry. I mean there’s nothing to joke, it’s definitely not a joking matter,” said LeSueur.
Sitz says friendly banter is okay during online game, it’s when people cross the line that gamers need to report things.
“If people say things along the lines of ‘I’m going to go shoot up my school’ or ‘I’m going to kill my parents’ or something crazy like that, absolutely report it immediately,” said Sitz.
Ramsey is being charged with the exhibition, use, or threat exhibition, which is a Class A Misdemeanor and is currently being held at the Ector County Jail.
(Story from yourbasin.com)
