Shot School of the Nations principal says attacker performed ‘bizarre dance’
-warns about influence of video games on youth
Following an attack at his home in which he was shot, School of the Nations principal Dr Brian O’Toole has expressed concerns about the influence of video games on youth, while noting that the shooter performed a “bizarre dance” that appeared to be from online game Fortnite.
“When I was shot the attempted murderer did a bizarre dance. When relating this to some students I am close to they referred me to the dark video game, Fortnite. The dance on that evening looked as if it had been rehearsed from the very same video,” O’Toole said in a recent post on the school’s Facebook page.
Fortnite is a video game in which players compete individually or as part of squads of up to four to be the last player standing within an ever-decreasing battle arena.
In the post, O’Toole said that it appears as though the young generation experiences difficulties in determining the difference between the game and real life.
He added that in the past, there were a number of children whose behaviour worsened as a result of playing Fortnite. “It leads to aggressive behaviour and language which they have heard online,” he noted, while calling on parents to monitor their children.
“The key issue surely is that in such games children and youth lose track of reality. The games are all consuming. As parents can we simply check to see if our children are part of this dangerous cyber world. At school we can do our best to educate children about the terrible power of this nether world but only parents can police their children’s phones, computers and other devices,” he added.
O’Toole was shot in an attack at his home on January 27th, hours after he had called a meeting to address threats that had surfaced the day before against the school’s student body.
The threats were made via Facebook and police and cybersecurity experts have been trying to locate the individual responsible.
To date, the perpetrator/s of the attack on O’Toole or the person/s who made the threats are yet to be apprehended.
Several persons were detained for questioning released.
Recently, reports have been circulated suggesting that the shooter was identified and apprehended in the United States.
However, when approached recently on the veracity of the reports, Commissioner of Police Leslie James said he would have to check. The force has not issued an update on the case since then.
The school was closed after parents expressed their fears about security in light of the threats and the subsequent shooting of O’Toole.
Prior to reopening, the school intensified its security and adopted an active shooter response plan.
Dissatisfied with the police investigation thus far, parents had also staged a peaceful protest in front of the Ministry of Public Security’s Brickdam office, where they had announced that they will be offering a $1 million reward for any information that may lead to the arrest of the perpetrator/s. but were subsequently