School shooter video game draws criticism

An upcoming video game that lets players simulate a school shooting is coming in for criticism from parents of shooting victims and from politicians.

An online petition by activist group Change.org urged the game distributor not to launch the game. The petition has so far drawn more than 100,000 signatures.

The game, “Active Shooter,” is to be released by Valve Corp. of Bellevue, Washington, on June 6 for between $5 and $10.

A trailer on the website of Valve’s digital distributor Steam opens with the player’s character as a SWAT team member entering a school to tackle a shooter before switching over to the perspective of the attacker with the action set to a pounding heavy metal score.

It ends with a trail of students’ bodies littering an auditorium room as a stats box keeps count of the numbers of police and civilians killed.

In addition to allowing players to pick sides, the game boasts a multiplayer mode and the ability to play as an unarmed student trying to survive.

“I have seen and heard many horrific things over the past few months since my daughter was the victim of a school shooting and is now dead in real life,” said Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter, Jaime, 14, was killed in the February 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

“This company should face the wrath of everyone who cares about school and public safety and it should start immediately,” Guttenberg said on Twitter. “Do not buy this game for your kids or any other game made by this company.”

“This is inexcusable,” said Florida Senator Bill Nelson. “Any company that develops a game like this in (the) wake of such a horrific tragedy should be ashamed of itself.”

Ryan Petty, whose 14-year-old daughter Alaina died in Parkland, also criticized the game.            /kga