According to a new story coming out of India, a 15 year-old minor has killed his older brother over a confrontation involving popular battle royale title, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. PUBG is a very popular entry in the shooter genre, bringing tense action and plenty of competitive shooter fun to the gaming scene. The game exploded in popularity and helped kickstart the craze of the battle royale genre. That success even led to the launch of a mobile port, and it’s this mobile port that’s the subject of this unfortunate story.
The 15 year-old, whose name was not released due to his age, had spent the day playing PUBG on his phone. The 19 year-old sibling apparently grew tired of his younger brother playing the game so much, and scolded the child. The victim, Mohammad Shaikh, was then attacked by the minor, and viciously wounded. Allegedly the minor banged the head of Shaikh against a wall and stabbed him repeatedly with scissors.
Medical personnel and police responded to emergency calls at their home, rushing Shaikh to the hospital. The older brother was declared dead on arrival to the medical center. A criminal case involving murder charges has been brought against the minor.
This year, the World Health Organization officially gave the go-ahead to declare video game addiction a disease, and it’s incidents like this that highlight the unfortunate reality of gaming for some players. It’s such a sad event when these acts of violence happen, even when they don’t involve video games. It’s hard to say what spurred this outburst, as there are no known details of previous incidents.
It absolutely highlights the need for parents and guardians to mentor children on the concept of moderation. Taking breaks is important for physical well-being as well as mental health. Marathon gaming sessions have resulted in deaths before. Such as binges in South Korea as well as Taiwan. Parents and guardians should also be aware of the warning signs of mental instability or other risks for harm to themselves or others. Far too often someone languishes in mental illness like depression for months or years before receiving any help, and many times it can end in tragedy.
Source: ZeeNews
