Video console death: US boy, 9, 'kills sister, 13, over controller'

[Low Hanging Fruit]

This is just crazy, I can't help feeling that whichever parent owned the gun should be charged with manslaughter, who leaves a loaded gun within reach of children?

Video games kill people is the story here... move along... move along.... /s

[Draco-Onis]

Whats the cost benefit analysis for a broken condom and whats the alternative a rubber hose. They are what $12 a box vs raising a child? I for one never bought the xbox360 because of bad reviews and people having theirs bricked after a short time. With the backlash Microsoft faced, I would have to believe I am not the sole person who thought this way. So yea, I am serious. Who is going to buy a gun for self defense and be happy with a 90% chance of it operating correctly when they need it? When faced with a choice of an old model firearm that works 99% of the time and a biometric gun that has issues identifying the user 10% of the time, do you honestly think people are going to choose the later?

Your argument is still they will fail then you should be fine with letting them fail once released so what's the problem? what are you so afraid of?

[Rivellana]

Because it will be a good thing to send a 9 year old in jail with a cellmate literally 5 times his age and weight, right?

Because his thought process is EXACTLY the same, right?

Because justice is all about punishing the act, whatever the circumstances, right?

Must be hard living your entire life without thinking.

Do you think all prisoners are 300-400 lbs? o.O

Anyways, I don't agree with the commenter you quoted entirely. I don't believe the child should be treated exactly the same as any other murderer would be, but he clearly needs punishment. A mental evaluation at least, and either he needs to be committed to an insane asylum or put in juvenile prison.

As I said before, 9 year olds ABSOLUTELY know that shooting a gun in the back of someone's head will kill them. He knew what he was doing, whether it's because he lacks impulse control due to his age or something else does not matter.

You don't get to murder your family member and walk away scot free because you're young and people want to make excuses for you about how you must not know better. This isn't something normal children do.

[Bathory]

I blame the controller.

[Vanyali]

Do you think all prisoners are 300-400 lbs? o.O

Anyways, I don't agree with the commenter you quoted entirely. I don't believe the child should be treated exactly the same as any other murderer would be, but he clearly needs punishment. A mental evaluation at least, and either he needs to be committed to an insane asylum or put in juvenile prison.

As I said before, 9 year olds ABSOLUTELY know that shooting a gun in the back of someone's head will kill them. He knew what he was doing, whether it's because he lacks impulse control due to his age or something else does not matter.

You don't get to murder your family member and walk away scot free because you're young and people want to make excuses for you about how you must not know better. This isn't something normal children do.

Most 9 y/os don't actually realize that death is permanent, nor have the ability to think of the far-reaching consequences of their actions. Particularly if their exposure to guns is TV, where you can be shot anywhere and either survive or show up just fine on another show.

[Celista]

Do you think all prisoners are 300-400 lbs? o.O

Anyways, I don't agree with the commenter you quoted entirely. I don't believe the child should be treated exactly the same as any other murderer would be, but he clearly needs punishment. A mental evaluation at least, and either he needs to be committed to an insane asylum or put in juvenile prison.

As I said before, 9 year olds ABSOLUTELY know that shooting a gun in the back of someone's head will kill them. He knew what he was doing, whether it's because he lacks impulse control due to his age or something else does not matter.

You don't get to murder your family member and walk away scot free because you're young and people want to make excuses for you about how you must not know better. This isn't something normal children do.

Most 9 y/os don't actually realize that death is permanent, nor have the ability to think of the far-reaching consequences of their actions. Particularly if their exposure to guns is TV, where you can be shot anywhere and either survive or show up just fine on another show.

Yeah I agree with both. I don't think 9 year olds truly understand consequence and the permanence inherent in murder. But they do know what is right/wrong behavior and behavior that their parents/society deems lawful and unlawful.

There was this one glaring incident of a teen killing his parents/siblings where he said that he was sad that he had to leave his pets behind while he went to prison but that he'd be out again at 18. That sort of typifies the type of faulty logic and lack of understanding about permanence of actions and consequences prior to adulthood. Especially nowadays, where we are so eager to try children as adults.

https://nypost.com/2018/02/13/teen-k...-year-old-boy/ think this was the news story.

[chrisnumbers]

That's literally the BBC headline of the linked and quoted article.

You lack reading comprehension.

That's what you should focus on, the title, which incidentally is the title of the article, I just copied it, so you didn't even call the right person stupid.

Apologies. I redirect my comment to the author.

[Vanyali]

Yeah I agree with both. I don't think 9 year olds truly understand consequence and the permanence inherent in murder. But they do know what is right/wrong behavior and behavior that their parents/society deems lawful and unlawful.

There was this one glaring incident of a teen killing his parents/siblings where he said that he was sad that he had to leave his pets behind while he went to prison but that he'd be out again at 18. That sort of typifies the type of faulty logic and lack of understanding about permanence of actions and consequences prior to adulthood. Especially nowadays, where we are so eager to try children as adults.

https://nypost.com/2018/02/13/teen-k...-year-old-boy/ think this was the news story.

Absolutely, I get that they understand that it's wrong, but that it's permanent? No way. At most, it'd be something along the logic of:

I watch TV, and good guys shoot the bad guys and it's Justice.
My sister is being a bad guy, and I need justice.
There's a gun, and that always gives Justice.
bang bang, why is everyone yelling.

[Celista]

9 is usually the age quoted for children to understand irreversibility, inevitability and universality of death. Maybe if the kid was even younger, I'd agree.

Yeah that is not exactly true. There is a huge range inherent in when children begin to understand completely the nature of death. Some 3-4 year olds may understand the permanence of death, although that is a minority of children at that age range.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/b...-concept-death

At 10 years old, most children begin to understand that death is a universal, irreversible, and nonfunctional state (meaning that dead beings cannot do the things that the living do). Interestingly, even after children reach this level of understanding they might continue to struggle with the idea that death is final, possibly because of certain religious beliefs. However, this may suggest a more mature understanding of death rather than a less mature one. Children with immature, binary concepts of death see people as either alive or dead, and do not consider the idea that there may be any other options based on religious values and ideas about afterlife.

[ProfessorTjc]

I started playing "violent" video games at the age of 10. The first game my aunt got me was GTA3 and guess what? I didn't turn into a cold blooded killer. Those parents are stupid for having a loaded gun in the reach of a 9 year old. They could've put in a locked box, put it up high somewhere, HIDE IT?!?!? No instead it's right in the open where the kid knows it's there and decided "Hay! lets make this easy".

EDIT: Did the parents even bother to even put the safety on?

[Celista]

Added 5 sources above.

I see. I don't need to read the sources though to understand there's variability inherent in which this occurs and that there is no hard cutoff. It depends on the child in question.

[Speaknoevil]

There was this one glaring incident of a teen killing his parents/siblings where he said that he was sad that he had to leave his pets behind while he went to prison but that he'd be out again at 18. That sort of typifies the type of faulty logic and lack of understanding about permanence of actions and consequences prior to adulthood. Especially nowadays, where we are so eager to try children as adults.

I enjoy using oneself as a compass for judging others and I can tell you that If I had killed someone at 9, I would be 100% to blame because of presence of mind.

[Celista]

Indeed, there is.

No, there isn't lol as the varied ages in your sources clearly indicate. Although yes, of course the likelihood that a child does not understand the finality of death declines with age.

- - - Updated - - -

I enjoy using oneself as a compass for judging others and I can tell you that If I had killed someone at 9, I would be 100% to blame because of presence of mind.

No one is using age to excuse the child's actions, we are talking about lack of understanding of consequences to actions and full comprehension of death as implications inherent in the decision-making process. The latter we have been arguing out for the last few replies. Lol.

[Heladys]

This is a gun death, not a video console death. Bait title.

[Polarthief]

Has kids and a LOADED, UNLOCKED, SAFETY IS OFF FIREARM.

I mean this parent is being locked away for quite awhile, boy's gonna be going through some shit when he realizes he permanently killed his sister. Yet another family completely obliterated due to gun negligence. It's almost like a country that has a significantly lower average IQ than the rest of the developed world shouldn't be allowed to own devices that kill each other. Students no longer feel safe in schools and now some might not even feel safe in their own home if their parents own a gun and are retarded enough like this one.

[Slirith]

To the folks who thought I was trolling. NOPE! Boy needs to be punished by being put into a juvenile facility then prison/jail for life at 18. No special treatment whatsoever due to his age. Course the same could be said about the parents.

[Speaknoevil]

No one is using age to excuse the child's actions, we are talking about lack of understanding of consequences to actions and full comprehension of death as implications inherent in the decision-making process. The latter we have been arguing out for the last few replies. Lol.

I assumed the implication was that people of that age don't have the comprehension, I disagree with the whole premise.

[Gaidax]

They needed to have teachers with guns with them there, I hear that solves everything.

[Celista]

I assumed the implication was that people of that age don't have the comprehension, I disagree with the whole premise.

Well we have a whole subfield of psychology that talks about these things and as you can see, Nymrohd posted some articles about it that you can read above if you are so inclined.

[Khaza-R]

Absolutely irresponsible parents, not providing a second loaded gun for the girl to defend herself with.

Agreed. Both children should have been armed to protect themselves to begin with.

What if some stranger knocked on the door, or someone suspicious entered their house.