Georgia teen arsonists allegedly learned from GTA

by Alexander Sliwinski { Aug 8th 2008 at 11:45AM }

The Grand Theft Auto blame-express keeps rolling on as three Georgia teens say they learned to make Molotov cocktails from the game. We must have skipped that level, is it the one with the points for the rape? WSBTV reports that the 15 and 16-year-old youths have been charged with 57 felony counts for a series of "car bombings" by Molotov cocktails.

The real kicker here is that police figured out who the arsonists were by going to the local Wal-Mart and sifting through receipts. One had on it the purchase of "Sprite bottles, red rags and lighter fluid," then the cops pulled the tape for the time of the purchase to identify the suspects. Poor guys, the game allegedly taught them how to make their tools of destruction, but not how to get away with the crime. Pro Tip: Hop in a car and drive until out of the police's radius.

[Via GamePolitics]

Tags: blame, georgia, grand-theft-auto-iv, gta

Related From Joystiq

FBI crime study finds video game system theft on the rise
10 days ago
Hands-on: Cop: The Recruit (DS)
200 days ago
April Fools: Jack Thompson wants government to legalize gamer murder
270 days ago

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Joe @ Aug 8th 2008 11:52AM

I don't think that GTA "taught" them to make Molotov cocktails. Nowhere in the game is there a minigame where you assemble the cocktails yourself.

Of course, it's pretty duh that it's easy to make one. Flammable liquid + container + flame = explosive.

Mr.ESC @ Aug 8th 2008 11:55AM

I'm pretty sure it is Bottle or Plastic bottle with flamable liquid + wick + lighter.

(Thank you Alone in the Dark).

Tiptup300 @ Aug 8th 2008 12:39PM

Molotov cocktails are just two sprite bottles duct taped together.

FOXHOUND @ Aug 8th 2008 1:43PM

Save for the chastity belt, that chick's pretty hot.
:d

Wait, what?

3cubed @ Aug 8th 2008 1:43PM

Molotov is a Spanish rock band.

domgbrown @ Aug 8th 2008 11:52AM

Love the pro tip!

beatboxtaun @ Aug 8th 2008 11:52AM

As I always say...I use GTA as my excuse for everything now. It seems to be working, kinda like an "As Seen on TV" product.

Eric @ Aug 8th 2008 11:51AM

Here comes the Hyperbole.

ChapmanTheFool @ Aug 8th 2008 11:53AM

The problem with the pro tip and the reason they failed to escape is obviously because they set their own car on fire with the cocktails...

beatboxtaun @ Aug 8th 2008 11:54AM

As I always say...I use GTA as my excuse for everything now. It seems to be working, kinda like an "As Seen on TV" product.

arrakisman @ Aug 8th 2008 11:54AM

I wonder what they must think of old episodes of MacGyver or the A-Team.

Metal Gear!? @ Aug 8th 2008 12:00PM

I'm pretty sure a paper clip goes somewhere on a Molotov, right? If not, that's why I always failed at that part in GTA.

AwesomeTown @ Aug 8th 2008 12:43PM

Oh man, kids today better not watch the A-Team. It'll teach them that no matter how much you shoot guns, you will never ever hit anyone.

Mr. Numeros @ Aug 8th 2008 12:58PM

McGruuuberrrr!

xGeneral DEATHx @ Aug 8th 2008 1:21PM

@ Numeros:

McGruber: Hand me that orange juice...yes, and that bottle of vodka...okay, now give me those ice cubes! Hurry!

Female lead: McGruber, what are you doing?

McGruber: Making a screwdriver!

*Explosion*

MC-GRU-BERRRRRRRR!

Mr.ESC @ Aug 8th 2008 11:57AM

I say the police should shoot these aholes I mean I'm sure they will respawn in the nearest hospital,kekekeke.

TrojanGuy @ Aug 8th 2008 5:02PM

Haha.

j.howlett @ Aug 8th 2008 12:00PM

i think somewhere Molotov and Shrapnel are pissed at Nobel for having a peace prize named after him.

Saria the Cat @ Aug 8th 2008 12:00PM

God, this is stupid. As if one can even SEE the detail on those graphic'd cocktails. Too bad the rest of society hasn't played the game and will be more than ready to blindly blame the monstrosity for having an in-depth tutorial on how to construct explosives.

I wonder, did this same blame game happen when "violent" movies first came out? You know, the ones that you CAN actually learn dangerous things from?

heffer @ Aug 8th 2008 12:22PM

Yes, the blame game has been attached to every new medium of art & entertainment. Films, music, paintings, sculptures, theater, etc...

Too long to list the many different events, but I would argue, it was much more dangerous back then than it is today.

Nowadays, somebody tries to blame something like video games for crime and you get blogosphere and public opinion coming to the defense.

ChuckJ @ Aug 8th 2008 12:44PM

It's different because most the these violent games are targeting teens who shouldnt be playing the game in the first place. Im not defending these morons, but the game companies know who their audience is. They know who plays these games. You all know to if youve ever played online. There are way too many people under 18 playing them.

Nick the Hero of Canton @ Aug 8th 2008 2:12PM

And more people over 30 playing them.

Paul (PSN: heypaul) @ Aug 8th 2008 2:51PM

True, but the defense attorneys also know who their audience is. Namely, a jury of our peers who know nothing about video games and will wholly accept the notion that these kids are innocent; it's Grand Theft Auto that's guilty.

Saria the Cat @ Aug 8th 2008 3:29PM

@ChuckJ: I will agree with you that too many immature, impressionable children with parents who have poor parenting skills are playing these games. I disagree with the notion that the games target children under 17 as their audience and that the game companies are to blame, however.

I think the real problem lies with the troubled children and their crappy parents who don't know how to monitor or help filter what media their children ingest or who simply don't care. It also takes a child who already has problems (such as reality testing issues) to triggered by a media stimulus to commit such horrible actions.

It's like that mom suing WoW because her son committed suicide. He must have had a severe mood disorder to begin with in order for a game to influence him to do that.

Jake11 @ Aug 8th 2008 12:01PM

i missed my train this morning and i blamed it on GTA4

Danny F. @ Aug 8th 2008 12:03PM

I dont ever recall the game teaching you how to make a Molotov cocktail....

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Aug 8th 2008 12:04PM

I...this doesn't even make fucking sense.

Mr Khan @ Aug 8th 2008 12:05PM

Here we go again...

SoulBlade @ Aug 8th 2008 12:06PM

I hate stupid people.

Danny F. @ Aug 8th 2008 12:11PM

Back in the old days when you got caught it was easy to give the "insanity" play.... but now I guess the whole "I learned from GTA" is much more effective... especially on the media..

Iridium @ Aug 8th 2008 12:13PM

Not smart enough to buy the different stuff on different receipts at different locations. Probably used a debit card to buy the stuff too.

Kids are unbelievably dumb today. We have actually hit the point where you can blame games for kids doing dumb crap. Just like you can blame wrestling shows for kids jumping off roofs onto their best friend lying on a table.

If a kid does something absolutely dumb and hurts themselves, well that is their fault. You can blame their influence, but in the end it is still their fault.

A big problem arises from their influence causing them to harm others. Once that happens the problem needs to be addressed. Only what are we supposed to do now. 75% or higher of today’s high school students can barely pass a simple history test from ten years ago. If they can't use google or Wiki to find an answer they are completely lost.

Don't mock the problem anymore because it really is a problem. The level of ignorance and lack of common sense in today's young people is far beyond any time in recent history. When I was a kid we did dumb things but nothing of the caliber I see now.

Dovi @ Aug 8th 2008 12:48PM

"Kids are unbelievably dumb today"

:(

FSK405K @ Aug 8th 2008 2:08PM

Back when I was a teen, we knew to buy lighter fluid in bulk with cash.

Saria the Cat @ Aug 8th 2008 3:37PM

I agree we have a lot of kids doing stupid shit today. But I don't think it's the kids who are primely at fault; I blame their parents.

We've progressed to the mentality that the government and other organizations should be doing the parenting of our children, not us. Parents count on ESRB and movie ratings to decide whether or not the content's appropriate for their kids. There's already a problem there since most parents will use the rating and not really look into the actual content. But the biggest problem is that parents also expect stores to monitor and filter what their children intake. They lay the responsibility of monitoring their kids with STORES. Jesus Christ, do people even enter their own kid's room anymore? It's not that hard to find out what they're watching or playing when it's at home.

And sure, kids are still doing stupid things. But the kids that do these things are either A) good kids wwho are just making honest mistakes, or B) kids who haven't been taught a proper perception of what is right/wrong, or C) kids who are disturbed but their parents won't admit/notice or seek treatment for their children. I think B and C are way more likely.

/rant

Mikeymike @ Aug 8th 2008 12:17PM

I lol'd

Jarret @ Aug 8th 2008 12:23PM

Celebrity does something stupid = alcohol.
Teen does something stupid = video games.
Media does something stupid = no excuse.

Psaakyrn @ Aug 8th 2008 1:43PM

Media does something stupid = politics/money.

Jarret @ Aug 8th 2008 1:53PM

@Psaakyrn: more like ratings, but oh well . . .

Jarret @ Aug 8th 2008 12:28PM

Oh, and @ Iridium.

You really think kids are dumber today? I'd like a teen from 1998 to show me how to make a YouTube video or start a blog or use Google maps to find their neighborhood. Definitions of intelligence change.

Kids do stupid things. They know different things than the previous generation. That's life.

arrrgh @ Aug 8th 2008 1:44PM

hahahaha type your address into a text box?

sign up for youtube service and use "browse" button to "find" your file on your hdd.

Kids are ABSOLUTELY less bright and more ADD prone than they were. You can thank instant access "everything" and immediate gratification in almost every aspect of life.

We are a VERY restless, and MASSIVELY apathetic generation. The TRUE innovators are becoming fewer and more far between than ever

Saria the Cat @ Aug 8th 2008 3:43PM

@arrgh: You can't really compare the two generations; it's like apples and oranges. And if you want to argue about kids being "dumber" now, actually, IQ scores rise with time. You can contest the construct validity of these tests but I don't know what better way to measure "brightness." You can also look at school content. Kids are learning math and reading skills faster than their parents' generation (e.g. learning multiplication in 2nd grade versus 4th).

And talking about ADD rates doesn't mean anything, because ADD has just really been "discovered" within this new generation and has become the most over-diagnosed children's disorder. Ritalin has become a quick fix for kids deemed a pain in their ass by their parents and teachers and has partly replaced some parenting and parental discipline.

xGeneral DEATHx @ Aug 8th 2008 4:50PM

I'd have to say that kids nowadays definitely take in more information per day than their parents took in during a whole week at the same age. I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing, but hey, at one point our ancestors thought the wheel was a major breakthrough, and nowadays people appreciate what it does, but not what life was like BEFORE the wheel, so take that as you will.

Also I have to agree with Saria here, and I'd say that 90% of the cases I've seen (based on people I know with kids) have kids just being a good ol' fashioned pain in the ass instead of a child with TRUE medicinal needs...and yet, what's the solution?? Let's give them DRUGS! I think our society's dependence on controlled substances is dragging us down faster than each generation's inherent laziness.

Okay, I'll stop now...