A nine-year-old Orlando, Fla. boy—"so tiny ... he could barely see the judge over the podium"—was sentenced to home confinement by a state judge after he brought "multiple weapons to school." The video game being blamed? Minecraft. Mine-bleeping-craft.


The unnamed student had "an unloaded handgun, a magazine with six bullets inside, a steak knife and a small-handled sledge hammer," reports WFTV-TV of Orlando. The firearm came from his father's home.

"The boy's father said he was playing a character he learned from the video game Minecraft," WFTV reports.


"They use hammers to dig and knives and guns to protect themselves from zombies," he said, according to the station.

WFTV reported that his father said "he was just acting out the game" and that the gun could never be fired, because it's firing pin had been removed. Still, the kid knew where to find it, and knew where to find the ammo, which ain't good.

But while Minecraft is not exactly a nonviolent game, in no way does it rise to the level of violence in typical scapegoats like Call of Duty or Grand Theft Auto. Minecraft is rated E10+ by the ESRB. Hearing that game—which is being taught in first grade, for God's sake—linked to a garden variety guns-n-schools freakout story is just nauseating.


Boy who brought weapons to school sentenced to home confinement [WFTV-TV h/t Franklin A.]