‘Fortnite’: 45-Year-Old Man Arrested After Threatening to Kill a Child

Video game rage quits are something we can all relate to but one Fortnite player took it too far after 45-year-old Michael Aliperti threatened to shoot an 11-year-old boy after losing a match in the popular online game.

Aliperti has been arrested for threatening to shoot and kill the young boy both at his home residence and at the child’s school. The Long Island school that the child currently attends has since been placed under heavy police surveillance following the threats made both in Voice Chat and through the Xbox One’s messaging capabilities.

One of the messages the child received from Aliperti showcases vile language and the threat of physical harm, “I am going to find you with a gun. You dead. I will come to your house tonight and f*** your world up.”

Apparently Aliperti has been playing the online game with this boy for quite some time now and because of this long-range interaction, even the school’s superintendent issued a statement regarding this case – urging parents to monitor their children’s game time:

“We should all use this incident as an important reminder that children should not be gaming with individuals they do not know.” He then called for parents to be more involved as their children play these popular online games in order to keep an eye out for volatile strangers.

Anyone who plays online games knows that this isn’t necessarily uncommon. Trash talk, gaming rage – it’s almost a part of the norm. Unfortunately in recent years there have been instances that have proven fatal and once the threats began to supersede “normal” trash talk and became threats of murder, the police then became involved at Aliperti was apprehended.

Fortnite is at the center of the gaming community right now with a record-breaking player count and almost cultlike presence in modern media – both gaming outlets and more mainstream avenues. Because of this glaring spotlight, it’s understandable that this leaves more room for toxic behavior as seen by Alperti, but it does raise the question of ‘how far is too far?’

What are your thoughts on Aliperti and the police escalation? Sound off with your thoughts in the comment section below and tell us what you think.

(H/T NY Daily News)