By Stevie Smith Feb 11, 2008, 14:13 GMT
Imagine this: You’ve committed a heinous crime and you’re suitably thrilled with your achievements, but you’re having a little trouble keeping your actions to yourself.
Idiot teen arsonist boasts of fiery crime on popular gaming Web site. Credit: Staci CP Travels.
Yet, rather than share privately -- perhaps by seeking out the understanding ears of others motivated by similarly criminal tendencies -- you choose to publicly announce your crime on an extremely popular videogame Web site instead. Clever?
In a move as genius as his crime, a teenage boy has sought notoriety by posting online messages bragging about committing an act of arson that resulted in the destruction of Mission Hill Baptist church and an accompanying school in Palmyra, Missouri.
After initially posting written submissions boasting of his actions to the Current Events message board of popular videogame cheats and walkthroughs site GameFAQs, the boy later added photographic evidence to back his claims when other posters challenged their credibility.
On Wednesday of last week, GameFAQs’ member Jediknight12345 asked other site posters whether he should carry out a plan to burn down a local church and school. The initial off-topic question was not taken seriously by the gaming site’s administrators, who deleted it.
The following day, however, posters on the message board asked Jediknight12345 what had happened regarding his plan, to which he wrote that he had carried it out and that both the church and the school were no longer standing.
When site members accused Jediknight12345 of lying, he proceeded to post various photos clearly showing internal areas of the church and school ablaze during the attack.
To further reinforce the validity of his actions, the young arsonist then directed GameFAQs’ message board traffic to WGEM.com, a local news site covering the burning down of the two buildings.
Needless to say, concerned posters from the gaming site quickly contacted WGEM about Jediknight12345’s claims. In turn, the broadcaster forwarded its gathered information to the Missouri State Fire Marshall’s office and ATF agents investigating the twin blazes. The boy has now been arrested.
Jediknight12345, who is believed to have attended the school, is now facing felony charges for arson and burglary.
Your Talkback on this Story