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Video games under fire AGAIN after it's revealed Robert Crimo posted violent CoD pics before massacre

The scene displayed in the Call of Duty video game was eerily similar to the scene of the Highland Park parade massacre that left seven people dead

HIGHLAND PARK, ILLINOIS: Highland Park shooter Robert Crimo reportedly posted video game clips online showing his character shooting his opponents from rooftops. The scene displayed in the video game was eerily similar to the scene of the massacre that left seven people dead.

The Daily Mail obtained videos that show Crimo and other gamers playing the violent game, named 'Call of Duty', laughing and directing each other. At one point, Crimo's avatar stands on top of a building and fires down on other players. On July 4, Crimo enacted his virtual role in reality. Armed with a powerful rifle he opened fire from a rooftop at a Fourth of July parade in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park. Crimo has been charged with seven counts of first-degree murder for a “premeditated and calculated attack", prosecutors said. He has been charged with seven murder counts, one for each of the victims he shot dead on Monday’s Fourth of July parade, Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart confirmed. If Crimo is convicted, the seven murder counts carry a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole.

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Social media is now blasting video games that propagate violence, especially Call of Duty, a first-person shooter video game franchise published by Activision. "Don't tell me video games don't play a role A group of other videos on his page, appear to show Crimo playing video games including 'Call of Duty,' featuring several missions where the user has to fire from a roof on to enemies," one user wrote on Twitter. "Maybe some video game reform if anybody really wants to get to root," one user said. One user commented, "There is a fair amount of evidence. Multiple real life shooters have had a fixation on the game. Newtown shooter. Also the recent elementary school shooter."

Violent video games and their link with mass violence

Plenty of news reports in the past will show you how video games have been slammed for influencing young minds to revel in the violence. Payton Gendron opened fire on a supermarket in Buffalo, New York on Saturday, May 14. He killed 10 people and injured three, the majority of which were Black residents. Video games were then attributed to be one of the causes for his psychopathic behavior. Take a look at the 1999 Columbine shootings. The Chicago Tribune reported that the perpetrators were fans of the video game Doom, and “used it to get ready for their attack.” After the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Senator Joseph Lieberman said that young men like the shooter had a “hypnotic involvement with violent video games.” In the case of Newtown shooter Adam Lanza, again violent video games figured as part of the reason why he gunned down 20 children and six teachers. CBS reports that cops reportedly discovered a "trove" of violent video games from Lanza's basement, where the 20-year-old spent hours alone, playing with windows blacked out, honing his computer shooting skills. Gaming titles like "Bulletstorm," "Grand Theft Auto," "Mortal Kombat" and "Splatterhouse" have often been singled out "vicious, violent video games."

'Correlation of violence in video games and society'

"We talk about mental health but then allow the promotion of these games and allow kids to spend a hours a day on them," one user wrote, while another said, "There is a correlation of violence in video games and society. Iam from a generation where firearms were very accessible. Three rifles were racked in my bedroom when I was a teenager and it was not uncommon. I grew up in an urban setting. No gun violence. The culture is the cause." "Yes indeed, these violent video games are no good and should be banned," one user wrote. 

The death toll in the Highland Park shooting has risen to seven after another victim succumbed to his injuries in the hospital. Six of the seven victims have been identified, including Steve Straus, 88; Katherine Goldstein, 64; Jacki Sondheim, 63; Nicholas Toledo Zaragoza, 78; and husband and wife Irina and Kevin McCarthy, 35 and 37. The McCarthys' son, Aiden, 2, was later found wandering bloodied and alone in the aftermath of the massacre. He was rescued by strangers who then handed him over to his grandparents. The seventh victim has not been named as yet. 

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