Student arrested over CS map

By Robert Purchese Published 3 May, 2007

School replica level to blame.

An American student who made a Counter Strike map of Clements High School has been arrested and sent to an "Alternative Education Center".

Local authorities acted immediately after they received a phone call from a concerned parent whose child had been playing a game that "involved killing" and took place in a virtual representation of the school.

The police searched the culprit's house and found a hammer in the creator's bedroom that they confiscated as a potential weapon, before arresting the lad on suspicion of terrorism. He wasn't charged with any crime and was soon released from custody.

Mother of the boy, Jean Lin, has rallied the Chinese community in an effort to appeal against disciplinary measures Clements High School took against the unidentified boy. Focus is on a 12th May school board election as the case turns progressively more political.

The incident happened just days after the shooting in Virginia, where a Korean student shot and killed 32 of his peers.

Head over to Fort Bend Now to keep up to date with the case. And don't tell anyone that Tom made Doom levels of his school when he was 12 - he's bricking it.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (70) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • kangarootoo #1 5 years ago

    "sent to an "Alternative Education Center""

    Jesus, that sounds a bit sinister. Did he come back with a nice new haircut and a suit?

    http://www.imdb. com/title/tt0134619/

  • morriss #2 5 years ago

    Jesus fucking Christ. Americaaaaa!! fuck yeah!! etc.

  • Daryoon #3 5 years ago

    I made Doom levels of my school.
    I also made a Doom level of the Mines of Moria.
    I must have a innate desire to massacre dwarves.

  • homerramone #4 5 years ago

    We're all living in america. America is Wunderbar.

  • TwistidChimp #5 5 years ago

    Sheesh, America really is turning into a faschist police state isn't it. Sent to an "Alternative Education Center" for the crime of making a video game level and owning a hammer.

  • Wite_Noiz #6 5 years ago

    Saw this on Slashdot. Most depressing thing was the people who come out in support of the decision saying this kid was obviously wrong in the head to do this.

    I made a whole group of Duke3D levels covering the different buildings of my school and held a competition. It was the next best thing to being given permission to play paint-ball in the school ;)

  • AcidSnake #7 5 years ago

    I recreated my school with the old build editor...
    Then with duke nukem lan parties we would hunt each other down in the replica...

    Bit strange in light of the shootings...But I think they're overreacting again...
    I mean a hammer?
    Pens can possibly be used as a weapon as well you know?...

  • jonsaan #8 5 years ago

    It all sounds a bit like locking the gate after the horse has bolted to me.

  • itamae #9 5 years ago

    They found a hammer? Oh no, they busted Spartan! :-D

  • jonsaan #10 5 years ago

    Mc Hammer can be extremely dangerous when used in the wrong way. They were right to confiscate it.

  • kangarootoo #11 5 years ago

    A friend of mine once recreated his own bedroom in the DN3D editor...

    we put him on suicide watch.

  • Bertie Verified Senior Staff Writer, Eurogamer.net #12 5 years ago

    we put him on suicide watch.

    :D

  • the_dudefather #13 5 years ago

    think of it from their point of view, they find out kid makes maps of the school in a 'death simulator', if they don't do anything and other parents find out there could be outrage, and they would blame that kind of inaction on school shootings, agreed expulsion and a ticket to Nazi fun town are way, way out of line, but the school was just trying to cover their asses in the the recent media fallout and from the wrath of parents of other students

  • Corvus #14 5 years ago

    Stories like this make me really glad I didn't grow up in America :-/. When I was younger and into making maps for Half-Life, I actually thought about creating a replica of my school. Did that make me a "potential terrorist"? Of course not, I just thought it was a pretty interesting idea for a map.

  • SBfistfun #15 5 years ago

    Omfg a hammer, it's just like 9/11 all over again!

    Bellends

  • Nige #16 5 years ago

    We used to make Doom wads of our offices back in the day. One of our level designers did an awesome job. The halls would echo to such cries as: "I just nailed Dirtbox in the Bog" etc.

  • Dant #17 5 years ago

    "The police searched the culprit's house and found a hammer in the creator's bedroom that they confiscated as a potential weapon"

    I have a hammer in my bedroom, I also have a screwdriver. Does that make me a mass murderer?

  • bushwod #18 5 years ago

    This is such bullshit.

    I recreated my uni room in CS. There nothing unusual about it.

    This is a typical problem of parents and authorities not understanding computer games and the mentality behind them.

    I feel sorry for this kid, he's just being used as a scapegoat.

  • crazyhorse174 #19 5 years ago

    "The police searched the culprit's house and found a hammer in the creator's bedroom that they confiscated as a potential weapon, but they decided to leave the shotgun and pistol that they found there too, as it was his constitutional right to bear them..."

  • FunkyRenegade #20 5 years ago

    That's ridiculous.
    Me and a couple of friends recreated our college for use in Unreal Tournament 2004 and Counter Strike.
    Does that mean we're psychotic killers?

  • Kurai #21 5 years ago

    In other news: Kevin jenson of North Carolina was arrested today after staging a 5 day siege at the top of a half constructed building in downtown Raleigh. The boy; 16, kidnapped a blonde schoolfriend and carried her over his shoulder to the top girder of the building before preceeding to throw flaming oil barrels down at passing plumbers. Police believe he may have been brainwashed by many hours playing known murder simulator 'Donkey kong'. Bananas found under his bed in a Police raid on the family home have been confiscated and destroyed.

  • Lonestar #22 5 years ago

    "...found a hammer in the creator's bedroom that they confiscated as a potential weapon, before arresting the lad on suspicion of terrorism."

    I hope the American authorities don't find out about our B&Q stores. They'll think they're terrorist training camps and weapon caches.

    Then they'll nuke us.

  • Artemis_Matsas #23 5 years ago

    @morriss Team America movie RULES!!!

    @Kurai LOL :D

  • bushwod #24 5 years ago

    @Kurai

    +1 LMAO

  • MrBiggles #25 5 years ago

    America and England are run by Nazis

  • Yossarian #26 5 years ago

    friend of mine made Doom levels of his school too :|

  • trevd72 #27 5 years ago

    When china takes the title of the only global economic super power and the US is left standing naked looking in the mirror at itself, then they will realise how they have fed on the lies and ignorance of small town USA and that they have been blinded by the power of the dollar. American values are baseless and their greed all consuming. They are the most racist country have have had experience of.

    The country is rotten from the inside and this story is a indication of the extreme measures that they go to to try and stop themselves from collapsing as a society.

    THe problem is I see GB going the same way.

  • Kafeen #28 5 years ago

    The story on Kotaku reported that they found 5 swords in his bedroom, not a hammer.

    I wonder what they really found.

    If it was swords in all likely hood it would be cheap display swords that break pretty easy if they hit anything and aren't even sharpened.

  • nickthegun #29 5 years ago

    Its a shame right to bear hammers isnt covered in the constitution.

  • secombe #30 5 years ago

    You are a student with the ability to create levels for a game. If you want to build a level with corridors what better inspiration than the place you see every single day, and more than likely the only building you know/see the layout of on a regular basis.

    It's common sense to me, I couldn't think of a more obvious place for a student to construct. If I made levels I'm pretty sure I would have copied my place of work by now.

  • bigbadbeasty #31 5 years ago

    I can't really say how much crap like this pisses me off. WTF is wrong with US?

    Guns are everywhere, yet they are surprised that people get shot!

    Now, to make them selves look like they are doing 'something', they arrest some poor geek...

  • jellyhead #32 5 years ago

    0_0
    WTF?

  • optimusprym8 #33 5 years ago

    "Mother of the boy, Jean Lin, has rallied the Chinese community in an effort to appeal against disciplinary measures Clements High School took against the unidentified boy."

    LOL well I guess he's Mrs Jean Lin's boy, there identified! :D

  • AcidSnake #34 5 years ago

    Fact is that schoolbuildings make interesting deathmatch arenas...
    Multi-leveled, lots of rooms and usually a nice compact feel to them...

    The US is rapidly becoming one of the most despicable countries in the world...
    After all those deaths by firearms they still cling to the right to bear arms...Why?!

    Washington is next...
    (Kickass song)

  • warthog2k #35 5 years ago

    I made Doom, Heretic and Duke 3d Levels of previous schools, places of work and university. Doesn't make me a terrorist or a psycho.

    The explosives I made with fertiliser might though...

    (FAO Anti-Terror squads - this post is meant ironically - I haven't actually made explosives, please don't confiscate my hammer or reeducate me...)

    Remember - Guns don't kill people, Rappers do.

  • arty #36 5 years ago

    I read it as "they found Valve Hammer in the culprits bedroom". Which they would if he'd been mapping for CS.

  • spidermanalf #37 5 years ago

    The father has said

    'Son of Thor is sorry, but can I have my hammer back'

  • RandolphScott #38 5 years ago

    suspicion of terrorism...wtf

  • rudedudejude #39 5 years ago

    "Fact is that schoolbuildings make interesting deathmatch arenas...
    Multi-leveled, lots of rooms and usually a nice compact feel to them..."

    LOL!! dude don't ever do a news interview around a school shooting time haha.

    Quote of the year, by far.

  • AcidSnake #40 5 years ago

    Sorry :)

    I hope I haven't offended anyone, it really is a tragedy what happened...

    Though I was speaking purely from a leveldesigners POV obviously...

  • Waffleaber #41 5 years ago

    I designed a map based around shooting up downtown baghdad, when can i expect my congessional medal of honour?

  • Arganoid #42 5 years ago

    I built a replica of my house in 3D Construction Kit, and you could shoot the gerbil.

  • Saladin #43 5 years ago

    I wouldn't worry if he was making CS:S maps of his school. I'd be far more concerned if he had been practicing bunny-hopping across the playground, screaming "AWP=GAY".

  • monkie_king #44 5 years ago

    @Kafeen -- You sure it wasn't 4 Swords? You know, the group elf-murder simulation on the GBA?

  • chrisjm #45 5 years ago

    OMG not 911000

  • Syrok #46 5 years ago

    I wonder what would have happend if he made map of the white house. :)

  • chupachups #47 5 years ago

    What about arresting the people who sell guns to nutcases?

  • Syrok #48 5 years ago

    No No No. Thats okay. Imagine where we would be if we couldnt just walk into walmart and buy guns.

  • Arrit #49 5 years ago

    All those people at gun clubs practicing shooting paper men are obviously doing it wrong. They need to pick up a mouse and keyboard and star learning how to really kill

  • jebus #50 5 years ago

    I'd be all for this if he was actually arrested for making the classic "schoolboy" error that all people make when first getting hold of a world editor, which is to assume that the school/office would make a great CS map. It never does, it's always shite.

    However he was obviously arrested because the powers that be in the US are a bunch of paranoid and uniformed cunts with no idea about anything. No change there then.

  • urban #51 5 years ago

    ...sigh

  • HappyPants12354 #52 5 years ago

    Sup guys I found the map, so here you go

    [link url=http://www.mega upload.com/?d=F48893HJ
    ]http://www.mega upload.com/?d=F48893HJ
    [/link]
    [link url= http://rapidshare.com/files/29195663/clmbsp.rar.html
    ]http://ra pidshare.com/files/29195663/clm...[/link]
    http://www.MegaShare. com/165325

  • Yoghurt_Pot #53 5 years ago

    You are a student with the ability to create levels for a game. If you want to build a level with corridors what better inspiration than the place you see every single day, and more than likely the only building you know/see the layout of on a regular basis.

    It's common sense to me, I couldn't think of a more obvious place for a student to construct. If I made levels I'm pretty sure I would have copied my place of work by now.

    ====================
    Couldnt agree more. The first thing a rookie level designer does is draw inspiration from his surroundings or picks a place he knows well and replicates it.

    The idea of running around a place you know very well and doing something you shouldnt is natural, hell we all wanted to play painball in our old schools cus we know the layout really well but it doesnt mean we're about to go massacre our classmates or colleagues.

    I think the whole perception of gamers is that they cant seperate gameworlds from reality, but the whole process of playing games reinforces the differences.

    Lets face it, it billypsycho has murderous intentions he will gets his kicks torturing animals and the like whether comp games exist or not. Just because for some its a stress release to destroy some pixels doesnt mean we are being overly desensitised (sp?) to our own moral code of right and wrong.

    god bless america...

    "You can take my hammer....from my cold dead fingers" i think charlton said.

  • Bluetooth #54 5 years ago

    It's HAMMER TIME!


    Sorry, couldn't resist.

  • HappyPants12354 #55 5 years ago

    I think the whole

    THIS IS THE ACTUAL MAP MENTIONED
    [link url=http://www.mega upload.com/?d=F48893HJ
    ]http://www.mega upload.com/?d=F48893HJ
    [/link]
    [link url= http://rapidshare.com/files/29195663/clmbsp.rar.html
    ]http://ra pidshare.com/files/29195663/clm...[/link]
    [link url=http://www.megashare. com/165325
    ]http://www.megashare. com/165325
    [/link]

    Is more relevant

  • L0cky #56 5 years ago

    So when are they going to arrest Rockstar as terrorists for recreating New York? Obviously they are planning an attack as we speak.

  • MossyMos #57 5 years ago

    They should just lock him up. I am sure he also had a wrench hidden somewhere.

  • cannabinemsi #58 5 years ago

    me and my friends always thought, back in the days, that making a counterstrike lvl of our school and/or the town's station would be cool. we lacked the knowledge of doing it, but thinking about that this could get us arrested in a "free country" nowadays gives me the creeps. sth goes wrong in this world. besides the "stuff that goes wrong but we're used to" mind you...

  • stephen #59 5 years ago

    The United States of America: Taking away your civil liberties one at a time!

  • ph101 #60 5 years ago

    I can't believe this! Actually I can and that is the sad thing.

    its just so absurd!
    Edited by 1 at 03/05/07 @ 22:30

  • crozon #61 5 years ago

    computer games don't kill people.................GUNS KILL PEOPLE..........STOP SELLING GUNS...................C^&TS
    Edited by 1 at 04/05/07 @ 00:07

  • smelly #62 5 years ago

    "Imagine where we would be if we couldnt just walk into walmart and buy guns."

    True story.

    On fox news days after the last shooting. There was a pro-gun bloke being interviewed. His reaction to all this was and I quote as best as i can remember "Well if all of the kids in the school carried guns, then maybe one of them could've killed him before he did too much damage".

    The mind fucking boggles.

  • rudedudejude #63 5 years ago

    Wonder if he would have been let off if he made it knives only

  • FWB #64 5 years ago

    Did they find any hammers in Iraq?

  • RexRunti #65 5 years ago

    Is there a gaming lobby? All this anti-gamer ignorance is making me urge for a fight back.

    Edit: Polictical lobby not you know the lobby in CS or an XBoxLive game.
    Edited by 1 at 04/05/07 @ 11:17

  • Errol #66 5 years ago

    Where can we get hold of this level from?

  • NewYork #67 5 years ago

    Don't make this about the Chinese, lady.

  • airjoca #68 5 years ago

    The great Bill Hicks once said:

    "Go back to bed America, your government is in control again. Here, here's American Gladiators. Watch this, shut up. Go back to bed America, here's American Gladiators. Here's 56 channels of it. Watch these pituitary retards bang their fuckin skulls together and congratulate you on living in the land of freedom. Here you go America, you are free to do as we tell you."

    He'd have so much fun nowadays if he was still alive...

  • Iora #69 5 years ago

    8-O

    My friend made a UT map of his Uni. Sorry folks im off to call the thought police.

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