crime

14-year-old boy stabs mother after she confiscates video game

56 Comments

Police said Monday they have arrested a 14-year-old boy in Ichinomiya, Aichi Prefecture, for allegedly stabbing his mother after she confiscated one of his video games.

According to police, an emergency call was received at around 5:40 p.m. Sunday from a woman who told the operator that her son had stabbed her, TBS reported. Paramedics rushed to the scene and found the woman had been stabbed in the back with a kitchen knife.

Following his arrest, the junior high school student was quoted by police as saying that he lost his temper because his mother took away a video game he had bought without telling her, TBS reported.

Doctors said the woman's left lung was punctured in the attack, but that her injuries are not life-threatening.

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56 Comments
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Now ya did it, you stupid kid....no more video games for life if that is how you are going to act!

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Nicely done you little jerk...

2 ( +4 / -2 )

It was a good idea to confiscate the video game, but a bit too late. She should have done before he became an insane game addict.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

She should have confiscated all the kitchen knives, as well.

10 ( +12 / -2 )

He stabbed her, eh? I'm going to guess the game was "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 or maybe 3". The Japanese boys have picked this game up and are ONLINE doing multiplayer. Of course it could have been any game but that's just a shot in the dark.

If it was in fact a violent game then we shouldn't be surprised at this kind of incident. I might lose some of you here but I'm going to mention it anyway. Quentin Tarintino is well known for his stories.. Gimme a second and I'll connect the dots for you.

The movie Natural Born Killers has this one scene where a native Indian is telling this story about a woman who found a snake almost frozen in the snow. She took the snake home, nursed it back to health and took good care of it. Then one day this poisonous snake bit her and she started to die. Why? Why? I brought you into my home, took care of you. The snake responded: (£%£$) You knew I was snake.

I see some correlation here to this incident. You give your child a game system and (maybe) a violent game. The mother must have known that video games are addictive and distracting. Students who play video games don't study. Well it's seems that snake has come back to bite her.

BTW, where's the father? Ahhh I better not get started on that.

-13 ( +4 / -17 )

How can you stab your own mother with a knife ? O_o

Scary child.

8 ( +9 / -1 )

Please do not make an association between video games and the violence of this crazed kid. It's like, guns don't kill people, people kill people. Video games don't make crazed teenagers, society does.

1 ( +11 / -10 )

Maybe he bought the game with the family food budget from his mothers purse. Getting close to the 25th a standard pay day.

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

My question is, how did the mother treat her son? I am sure there is much more to this story...

-7 ( +4 / -11 )

Perhaps if mommy has raised him not to be addicted, he wouldn't have flipped out? Kids who get such toys/games in moderation wouldn't flip out and stab if they had something confiscated. Willing to bet this kid has limited friends, is a social outcast at school and hasn't been told "no" near enough.

So, they going to stick him back with mom or send him to juvi center. I wouldn't feel safe in my own home if stuck with my kid who stabbed me.

-7 ( +2 / -9 )

@Diskillusioned In that case we are both right if the game turns out to be Call of Duty. It's based off of society. The weapons are real. So are the tactics used in the game. It's a war game. In order to stab someone you'd have to know how to do it first.

I'm sorry if you work for the video game industry. I'm a die hard gamer. I play all sorts of game. Most of them involve destroying the enemy. If I were allowed to be a father in Japan I most certainly would not buy my kid a game system.

That's where you say, you child will hate you and you won't be popular. As a father or mother, it's not my job to be popular. It's my job to protect my child from negative influences. Once you expose your child to certain things there's no turning back.

I blame the mother, then the game industry, and finally the child. I don't have a clear picture as to where the father is so i'll reserve judgement until we get more information.

-4 ( +4 / -8 )

Not particularly surprised by news like this...

1 ( +4 / -3 )

It's interesting that people are blaming the mother here, when clearly this is just another case of a person snapping over next to nothing. Happens all the time here. Girl stabs dad because he complains about phone bill. Boy stabs mom because she wouldn't pass the remote control, etc.

Hope the kid is shipped off to a reformatory.

5 ( +8 / -3 )

@Disillusioned - Guns are completely different from knives. When one try to kill many intentionally, which one is better? gun or knife? If the boy had a gun, he might have used it instead of knife. Gun is so easy.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

eye twitches

1 ( +2 / -1 )

make him get a job and see what life is about

3 ( +4 / -1 )

A good dose of discipline and enforced attendance at anger management classes for this child.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Not surprising at all - and that is really sad. I've seen students (all ages) either throw hissy fits or even stand nose to nose and threaten teachers for this kind of garbage. Video games are such a waste of time. Though I wish I had the time to waste - guess I'm jealous.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

@NetNinja i play COD4 and BF3 a few hours every weekend, but i dont go trying to kill my wife when she call me to change my son diaper! Come on, dont blame the game for Social the problems happening all over the world and poor parenting.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

There are conclusive studies which directly link aggressive behavior to violent video games. http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2010/mar/vvgeffects

Does this mean that video games cause violence? No.

But they do amplify violent tendencies in some people.

Is there a possibility that violent video games influenced this child's behavior. Yes.

-2 ( +2 / -3 )

The research on whether violent video games cause violence is mixed. Some argue that on the contrary they provide an outlet for violent emotions that might otherwise erupt into physical violence. Anecdotally, Japan has some of the most violent fiction for young people in the form of Manga (which I read has to have parental guidance warnings when published in the US) and yet there is considerably less physical violence, so the outlet theory is not to be dismissed out of hand.

Japanese mothers are often the most powerful parent in the home, and do more of the parenting / disciplinging/ socialisation of the children -- i.e. almost all of it -- so they are much more likely to be, and are, the target of violence when violence erupts.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Wow......I am trying to think of what to type, but I can't. It's....just....unbelievable!

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Mother must be more heartbroken to know she's raised such a monster

0 ( +2 / -2 )

I agree with Netninja to a point. Today parents treat game systems like baby-sitters, which is in itself an invitation for trouble. Add in the violence of the games and you have created a monster.

-3 ( +3 / -6 )

If I were allowed to be a father in Japan... Are you banned from being a parent? ;)

It's interesting that people are blaming the mother here, when clearly this is just another case of a person snapping over next to nothing. Happens all the time here. Girl stabs dad because he complains about phone bill. Boy stabs mom because she wouldn't pass the remote control, etc. Smith, I agree with 99% of your posts but not this one. Kids who are "normal" don't snap when mom takes away a game. Kids who "snap" are usually spoiled brats or have mental illness issues that aren't being addressed nor looked after. I am saying mom because that who was stabbed and who usually does most of the child rearing here. The examples you gave usually go a little further than snapping - it is usually the case of mom and dad not putting the foot down and THEM snapping and taking away something their kid is usually allowed to have when they want. Kids through temper tantrums - that is natural. Stabbing your mom over a game? Isn't.

And various research about violent games and kids. My brats will never be allowed to have a game consul. I wasn't allowed and hated my mom for it but am thankful now. They want to play, they can go to a friend's house. Win/win. They get to play and I get some peace! ;)

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Used to be the laws protected a bad a$$ from getting what he needed....a steel toed boot ! This is where we have arrived ...I didn't have a fear of god when I was young but I did know my dad was coming home.. That was enough to deter me and make me think about repercussions

Bring back old school rules! There is a huge difference between discipline and abuse, take out the discipline and you get parental abuse and worse !

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Opsss! i mean to said "dont blame the game for society problems that is happening all over the world because of poor parenting"

Mod please a edit button!! Please!!!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The kid should have been happy with her just taking it. There was a father here who got so P.O.'d at his daughter's profanity-laden YouTube video tirade at her parents (they had the GALL to want her to do some work at 16), that he took her laptop and shot it, then posted HIS reply on YouTube.

Kids are being coddled too much - expecting to get everything they want. It's because of this that kids get unruly when things are denied them and/or taken away from them.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I'd like to know the relationship that the mother and son had. In saying that I kid near I live many years ago (australia -the kid was 9 at the time) got his hands on his fathers crossbow and shot his own mum. Luckily the mother survived. Apparently everything was fine in the house hold and the kid just decided that he liked his father more than his mother. He did however have ADHD.. but even then.. stabbing or shooting your own mother.. I think there would be something mentally wrong with you.

unless of course his mother is a terrible person?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

My son got a Nintendo DS for his last birthday as a surprise present from a close friend. It's caused no end of trouble even though we are strict and limit when and how long he plays on it. That's all he and his friend's want to do. Nintendo. Nintendo. Nintendo. I find it a bit disturbing that kids ( boys in particular) seem to be obsessed with it. We have rules on when my son can play but problems arise when he meets his friends or goes to a friend's house to play. Some parents don't seem to mind that their kids are literally spending whole afternoons, sat side by side, hardly any verbal communication going on, playing Mario on a Nintendo. Or that going to play in the park means sitting on a bench in the park playing ....yes~ Nintendo. I do not think it's healthy mentally, emotionally or physically to play computer games for hours on end, on a daily basis. Life really does have a lot more to offer than that. I sometimes wonder where we are headed to as a race watching the adults wired up texting on their phones while their kids are engrossed in a Nintendo game. I am not saying that games make people violent but I do wonder about a child's developing social and communicative skills .

4 ( +4 / -0 )

If I was this kid's father I know what I would do with his Sony PSP!! Shove right up where the sun dont shine!!

6 ( +6 / -0 )

I think any kid who stabs his mother has serious psychological problems. No amount of playing video games would induce a normal teenager to attack anyone in such a violent manner. In 2005, the US had 2,279 murders committed by teenagers (27.9 per million residents) compared to 73 in Japan (3.1 per million). Per capita video game sales were $5.20 in the US compared to $47 in Japan. This example illustrates that there is no correlation between violent behavior and playing video games. A causal link between violent video games and violent behavior has not been proven . Many studies suffer from design flaws and use unreliable measures of violence and aggression such as noise blast tests. Thoughts about aggression have been confused with aggressive behavior, and there is a lack of studies that follow children over long periods of time. http://videogames.procon.org/sourcefiles/Nolink.pdf

5 ( +5 / -0 )

I think that in a case such as this one, many factors must come into account. We often link diseases of the body with physiological causes, and diseases of the mind with purely psychological causes. There might just be a combination of reasons that lead to such behavior. It would be interesting to look at irrational violence of people, encompassing different aspects such as food (nutrients deprived industrial foods), chemical or metal poisonings, lack of outdoor activities, sociological environment, psychological environment, stress, etc.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Criminal gangs in the USA have swelled to an estimated 1 million members responsible for up to 80% of crimes in communities across the nation, according to a gang threat assessment compiled by federal officials. So yeah, Drug related murders involving gangs yes. A kid has his toy taken away by his mommy.. NO.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

I think about all those time I wanted to -Nope never happen, the ideal of even dreaming about hurting my mother would have sticken me to hell. What kind of monster are these kids. It is a control issue somewhere in this kids head he figures he has the same rights as a fully grown adult. I don't know where he could have gotten that idea from. We don't know what his family life is like other than from this short blurb. However, really maybe some old fashion Mom's can start putting together some course. A lovely phrase used by many a Mom in my neighborhood. I put you into this world and I as sure as hell can take you out of it. The fear of Mom, is the first law of the house. Second only to the fear of dad finding out you disrepected Mom.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

i wonder who gave this idiot money to buy the game ? Who pays the bills for the electrical power this machine is operating on.

The kid should learn to control his emotions.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

I think any kid who stabs his mother has serious psychological problems. No amount of playing video games would induce a normal teenager to attack anyone in such a violent manner.

That goes without saying, but I think in this case the parents were partly culpable for the kid's state of mind:

A. He didn't see a problem in purchasing a game without permission (using money set aside for education, perhaps?) This implies that in the past, his parents have let things slide when the kid does things without permission.

B. The kid's extremely abnormal and violent reaction to a game being taken away. This implies the kid has been raised in a family where he is used to getting what he asks for, when he asks for it. A "prima donna" mentality has set in and NOBODY is going to get away with denying him what he wants.

When the mother took the game away, she no longer was his mother but an obstacle to his "happiness" - an obstacle that had to be removed at all costs. Kids need to learn that you can't always get what you want, ("but sometimes you get what you need.")

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The mother must have known that video games are addictive and distracting. Students who play video games don't study.

I'm sorry if you work for the video game industry. I'm a die hard gamer. I play all sorts of game. Most of them involve destroying the enemy.

So, by your own logic, you're an admitted distracted addict by definition? If anyone's looking for the laziest way to explain away this or any other violent incident, look no further--it absolutely MUST be the violent games. How about recognizing that human relationships are a bit more complex than that? You know, thinking about it?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I just want to know what game it was~

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

The desire of the eyes is strong.Once you start looking at something it starts to take a place in your thoughts. It doesn't mean you'll act exactly on what you see, but you could develop attitudes based on the type of behaviors video games exhibit.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@The_True

@NetNinja i play COD4 and BF3 a few hours every weekend, but i dont go trying to kill my wife when she call me to change my son diaper!

I'm going to take guess here and assume you are a grown man from a generation where the worst thing you ever saw was Pac-Man eating ghosts. The most blowing up stuff we did back in the 80s was Dig Dug.

My conclusion is that this was a spoiled kid, maybe even Damien (BGM plz). This is an open discussion though and all things should be considered. At the center of this incident is a video game so I think it's fair to say that it HAS affected him.

@The_True I really respect your opinion and I'm very glad you chimed in on this topic. Allow me to put a rhetorical question on the table. Remember Gollum from Lord of the Rings? Remember how the ring consumed him, changed him? How did he respond when The Ring was taken from him. He tried to kill Frodo. It was his precious. His addiction to it was so great that he thought of nothing else.

Playing video games leads to the same kind of isolation from family and friends. As games consume this boys time, he becomes more and more alienated from the rest of the world.

It's okay if you think I'm wrong. I see a connection there. It appears similar to me. This video game, the One Ring. So you'll never get me to fully blame this little boy. Frodo understood how Gollum had been affected by the Ring and felt compassion for him.

Please tell me what you think.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

I'm a dad with a teenage boy at home, and can't imagine the scenario in this story. My lad does play video games, but we have a few rules about them that we worked out together. Eg; no games at the dinner table, or when we go out for dinner. Everyone follows the same rule. Mommy and daddy don'T play with their smartphones or send mail, and neither does DSjr. I shake my head when I see families having dinner 'togehter'. Except the only thing together are their bodies. Kids are playing games, mom tapping on her phone, dad reading a friggin comic. Nice quality family time there...

I find that in general, the best way to discipline teens is to let them know clearly the rules beforehand, give them some feedback on what the rules are, and what the consequences are. Also, it's important to have a reward system in place too. Get good grades in school, get some cash and extra privileges. The carrot AND the stick are both needed.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Video games do not turn normal (apologies to anyone offended by the term), well-adjusted people into psychotic killers. Did losing on Tetris when I was waiting for that line of 4 blocks to come make me want to throw the Gameboy through the window? Sure. Did I do it? Hell no!

I've played games where you punch people, kill people, run over people, stab people. kill your teammates, torture people to get information, destroyed civilizations etc. Did it make me want to do any of those things? No, because it was a game and that's it. Sure I stayed up into the small hours many a night and played games a lot more than most, but it didn't make me some deranged psychopath.

People blaming video games, TV, movies, music etc are just looking for scapegoats. Have no idea whether this will prove to be a popular opinion o not, but it's mine.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

I still think that the kid might have taken the remaining cash for food from her wallet before pay day on the 25th.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@Soldave Come on now!! You never RAGEQUIT? Of course some people need anger management classes. However we humans for whatever reason tend to lose control. Take driving for instance, have you ever seen road rage? This video game rage is not uncommon.

Of course the games aren't going to make you a deranged psychopath but then again, not EVERY murderer is a deranged psychopath. In a moment of uncontrolled rage one can destroy their life.

I'm not looking for a scapegoat. We've already got the goat in custody (the kid). I'm asking you to consider who put him on the leash (the addiction). A scapegoat is just that. A goat or donkey intentionally left to appease a predator. Look at the word but now add an E to it. Escapegoat,

The primary blame does not go to the video game industry but to claim they have no part to play in this is unacceptable. I LOVE my games but if this kid was playing COD when it's for Mature then I'm willing to consider other influences.

This kids today aren't playing Tetris. They're playing Call of Duty, Battlefield, Left for Dead, Resistance and Mass Effect, just about anything with guns in it. Most of them feature close-up melee attacks that can use the stock of the weapon, knife, or fist. The most common way to achieve these melee kills is to come from behind......just like the kid did his mom.

If you play then you know what i'm talking about.....run up, come from behind, kill the camper with a melee attack. Just like this kid. Children are very impressionable, they are going to try some of the things they see. This generation of children are much faster than their parents. They really don't know what they're children are playing and watching.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Sports!! Getting sweaty is a million times better than sitting around playing crap on video games!!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

My parents' rules for the "famicon" was you can only play on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, and only for one hour. They made me sign a contract and I honored it. Certain rules need to be established before buying your kids gaming consoles.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

I think the real problem with situations like this is that as children are growing up, the parents fail to realize the necessity of teaching their kids "This is just a movie/video game/cartoon/etc." It seems like common sense to adults, but children can grow up without realizing that there are consequences for violent actions, and that people don't just bounce back after getting stabbed or bludgeoned with an anvil like in movies or cartoons. It may seem silly, but seriously, I really want to know how many parents of kids who act this way actually stressed the difference between reality and TV, movies and video games as their child was growing up. A simple "It's just a movie honey, you know if you try stabbing someone that the person won't be ok and big scary police will come get you yadda yadda yadda" every now and then can't hurt.

Sure, kids who stab their parents may have psychological issues, but perhaps if parents focus on properly educating their children from an early age about what happens when you try to be as violent as your favorite action hero or whatever in real life, kids will have a better grip on reality. Maybe not, but it can't hurt for parents to try while their kids are still young and developing their world view.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Guess he had been playing modern warfare 2 or 3 and had been running , light weight pro, marathon pro with commando pro and the knife.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

An addict indeed. Bet I could still own him at league of legends though.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

stupid kids

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@Adam Brown The way this kid attacks from behind you'll probably be ganked while you're attacking the tower. I know one thing for sure. He'll be using Shaco.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

@NetNinja Watch the whole episode to give you some perspective, not conclusive but will make you think a little. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWr4htYp9dM

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@ DS.....I COULDN'T HAVE SAID IT BETTER!! It all starts with fundamentals at home. My teenage boys have Wii, DS and i-pod games. They were told over and over again (till they tired of hearing it...) what the specifics and rules were from the get-go! During meals we enjoy daily chats from school to work to club and so on. Granted not all days are the same. We often watch a TV program where we ALL GET INVOLVE. During weekdays, we keep our boys between cram school and club activities. Weekends are their "stay-to-play" virtual game time and yet they decide to hit their club activites. So, YES, parents influence DOES make a difference!!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I'm going to take guess here and assume you are a grown man from a generation where the worst thing you ever saw was Pac-Man eating ghosts. The most blowing up stuff we did back in the 80s was Dig Dug.

Or, the end of civilization as we know it, in a little game called Missile Command, in which the only way to win is not to play.

At the center of this incident is a video game so I think it's fair to say that it HAS affected him. How did he respond when The Ring was taken from him. He tried to kill Frodo. It was his precious. His addiction to it was so great that he thought of nothing else.

The object that was denied to this kid is irrelevant; only the fact that it was being denied to him mattered enough to drive him crazy enough to lash out. If he had his mind set on getting a hula hoop and his mom tried to take it away, you'd have the same result. Not sure why you insist that video games are somehow uniquely able to cause madness, especially when the example of Gollum only supports the theory that any object can make you nuts if you obsess over it.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/get-psyched/201201/do-violent-video-games-increase-aggression I was just reviewing some of these comments and going back to what I said earlier about attitudes, what I should have said is temperment. So I found this article that shows a study that proves a link between video games and agression. And I too believe that well adjusted temperments of others would not give cause to want to act violently but there's more factors involved besides a video game and an aggitated boy who couldn't play it.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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