By Barry Ungary
We all knew it was inevitable. Jack Thompson warned us, pointing out how the Virginia Tech shooter used the rocket jump techniques from Quake in order to maximize damage, but we did not listen. And now the town of Shreveport, Louisiana is paying for our indifference in the lives of 7 and millions of dollars in property damage all due to the digital education in combat skills that many video games have become.
It all started when High School senior David Hoolikamp was in middle school. He was picked on, made fun of by his classmates. P er a source for the school district who asked not to be named he had persistent and repeated discipline problem in school. Police records show his home had numerous calls for domestic disputes. A man believed to be his father shows reports for multiple DUIs, his moter at least two arrests for disorderly conduct and assault.
And then David found video games.
It started innocently enough, as most these stories do, with a goofy little game called Rayman Origins. Friends and family report he was enamored with the game and played it to completion. After that, however, things took a darker side and he began playing violent games such as “Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater” and the infamous “Mass Effect” series. These proved gateway drugs towards ever more dark and violent games like the Sims. And then in July 2017 he found Fortnite.
It is believed sometime in late 2017 or early 2018 David began making plans to shoot up his home town of Shreveport, and police believed he used Fortnite to practice. Experts point to David’s early start in the attack when he started breaking down walls of building with a pick-axe as a common technique in the Fortnite game. After a few minutes, David managed to locate firearms lying on the floors in a few houses he had disassembled, and
began building a tower in the middle of the city. Then he opened fire, managing to kill at least 7 people before finally being taken out by police.
This tragedy has sparked fierce debate. Politicians have called for a variety of from raising the purchase age of assault pick-axes to 25 to requiring universal background checks for purchasing video games. Some activists have also questioned allowing chain saws, axes and sledgehammers without even an ID check. Further calls for a congressional hearings on gun storage in living rooms, dining rooms and attics have been voiced across the media.
A small minority has questioned the mental health and social environment of the Hoolikamp household and wondering why Social Services were never called to assess the children for necessary services. However, most activist groups believes this emblematic of a wider problem of video game violence coupled with unsafe access to personal demolition equipment.
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