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Pokemon is all fun and games right? Until you piss off the wrong person that is.

Kevin Norton, 18, and James Stumbo, 27, both from Iowa, allegedly made violent threats on social media to attendants at the Pokémon World Championships, cops said. Security officials at the Hynes Convention Center, where the tournament is held, immediately began investigating, and the two men were stopped hours later trying to get into the event.

Detectives searched the suspects' car and found a 12-gauge shotgun, an AR-15 rifle, several hundred rounds of ammunition and a hunting knife, cops said.

The altercation began between two entrants on facebook.
Stumbo posted the threat Aug. 19 on a Facebook group called "Mayhem Pokémon Crew," with a photo of the shotgun and the rifle on the back of their car.

He captioned the photo: "Kevin Norton and I are ready for worlds Boston here we come!!!"

When a group member wished them good luck, Norton replied, "With killing the competition?"

SOURCE

 

[The Catboy]

I am actually really happy to see they were able to prevent this, but it's more disturbing that these guys were able to get these kinds of weapons in the first place.

 

[endoverend]

A death penalty for almost killing everybody. You don't go around packing a LOTTA HEAT if you have no intention of using it. And intention to kill is what's dangerous - you could have a spoon in your hands but you'll still use that spoon to try and kill people because of the intentions behind it. With intent, everything becomes dangerous.

I understand that while it's entirely possible that they had the intent of firing weaponry at people in a crowded event (and even IF than intent was clearly and without a doubt present the death penalty wouldn't have been justifiable) there are several discrepancies which cause doubt as to whether they even had that intent. It's still entirely possible that it could have been a big (and undoubtedly dumb) joke for which the charges would be something more akin to that of a bomb threat (which, again, I still understand is very serious). Regardless; they may or may not have had the intent to kill people at this event but EITHER WAy a death penalty isn't justifiable because the crime of murder was never committed.

 

[thorasgar]

What the actual fuck...

Seriously, some people need to be away from the society.

This is what the Matrix is for.

 

[HaloEffect17]

Much like the Pokemon world, some things are just evoutionary dead ends. These kids are basically the equivalent of Dunsparce; a pointless dumb creature that will never evolve, learn anyting worthwhile or contribute anything of consequence that we'll quickly forget about the moment the novelty wears off.

Hey, don't insult poor Dunsparce comparing him to these trashbags. But I agree with everything else you said about this people.

Nothing against Dunsparce. Just a good metaphor. That is all.

Anyways, this is really sickening to hear. Glad they got caught, bottom line.

 

[Olmectron]

Nothing against Dunsparce. Just a good metaphor. That is all.

I understand. Just saying, that people shouldn't even be compared to a living being (even if it's a fictional one). They aren't even worms.

 

[master801]

They play too much Call of Duty.

That's all I have to say.

 

[HaloEffect17]

I understand. Just saying, that people shouldn't even be compared to a living being (even if it's a fictional one). They aren't even worms.

I thought Dunsparce was a snake. I'll credit him as a worm though, he definitely has worm-like qualities. LOL.

 

[Foxi4]

They play too much Call of Duty.

Yup, let's blame it on video games, the games did it. Or movies. Or TV. Or music. Or maybe there's a bigger problem within the nation that needs to be addressed, but since we have more convenient scapegoats, we'll use them.

I am actually really happy to see they were able to prevent this, but it's more disturbing that these guys were able to get these kinds of weapons in the first place.

Guns are not a problem, they're just tools. The problem here is the method of distribution of guns, but that's material for a bigger debate.

 

[aaronz77]

Probably shouldn't start posting about your plans to shoot up a highly populated event on facebook

I'm glad they were crazy enough to post it though. Otherwise we wouldn't find out until it was too late.

 

[Olmectron]

I thought Dunsparce was a snake. I'll credit him as a worm though, he definitely has worm-like qualities. LOL.

Oh, no, he's the Land Snake Pokémon, I meant, they aren't even a real world worm for me.

 

[HaloEffect17]

Oh, no, he's the Land Snake Pokémon, I meant, they aren't even a real world worm for me.

Whew... OK. Glad we got that sorted out.

 

[breaktemp]

Man...just google'd a few news reports about this...and it hurts to accept that these events really happened.

I had planned to compete at the World VGC again this year...and while the cops did intervene before they could execute their plan, this story has me thinking of being more cautious traveling to these events.

My thing is these guys had all of these weapons/ammunition with no license to carry...plus the fact that the officers just let them go...

 

[Olmectron]

Whew... OK. Glad we got that sorted out.

Yep. I don't like calling people like that, though, but these kinds of nonsense in society are disturbing.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

My thing is these guys had all of these weapons/ammunition with no license to carry...plus the fact that the officers just let them go...

They were stopped on Friday, though. However, I think they must've been stopped since Thursday and wait for the investigations to dictate wether freeing them or arresting them.

 

[Monado_III]

I understand that while it's entirely possible that they had the intent of firing weaponry at people in a crowded event (and even IF than intent was clearly and without a doubt present the death penalty wouldn't have been justifiable) there are several discrepancies which cause doubt as to whether they even had that intent. It's still entirely possible that it could have been a big (and undoubtedly dumb) joke for which the charges would be something more akin to that of a bomb threat (which, again, I still understand is very serious). Regardless; they may or may not have had the intent to kill people at this event but EITHER WAy a death penalty isn't justifiable because the crime of murder was never committed.

So, if I build a nuke, and then threaten huge amounts of people with it, cause a global crisis, I wouldn't deserve the death penalty because I never did anything to actually hurt anyone? I'm sorry, but building a nuke and threatening the world and going into a heavily packed event centre with guns have two very important things in common, they're terrorist acts which should (not sure if they do in the USA or not) carry the death penalty.

now I'm not saying that they should necessarily get capital punishment unless we're sure they actually meant to use them, but if there is evidence that they planned an attack they shouldn't be treated any different from the Boston marathon bombers.

 

[ferofax]

I understand that while it's entirely possible that they had the intent of firing weaponry at people in a crowded event (and even IF than intent was clearly and without a doubt present the death penalty wouldn't have been justifiable) there are several discrepancies which cause doubt as to whether they even had that intent. It's still entirely possible that it could have been a big (and undoubtedly dumb) joke for which the charges would be something more akin to that of a bomb threat (which, again, I still understand is very serious). Regardless; they may or may not have had the intent to kill people at this event but EITHER WAy a death penalty isn't justifiable because the crime of murder was never committed.

See, this is why the good guys will never win against the bad guys. Good guys are too concerned about justifying this and that - meanwhile the bad guys keep killing and unleashing wanton, unrestrained destruction while the good guys are arguing over what to do with the bad guys if and when they catch them.

LOL, okay I exaggerated that a bit, but you get the point. Essentially, we have a mismatch of opinions. You think we should be lenient because it never really happened anyways. All's well that ends well, right? Well I think you're gonna have a bad time if you wanna wait until somebody shoots up kids before you start doing decisive action against these kinds of domestic threats. I say stop the people who wanna shoot up kids, permanently. Not right away, they must still be given the chance to prove otherwise (especially in cases like this, where they're caught red-handed with weapons), but it has to be fast, has to be decisive.

Also, if this is some kind of a really bad joke on their part, then I say take their genes out of the gene pool even more. We don't need that kind of idiocy who thinks it's "funny" to "play pretend" shooting up kids by bringing deadly weapons and live ammunition to a place where kids gather. The kind of people who think this is funny are sociopaths. SOCIOPATHS. Sick in the head. Write them off the face of the earth, I say.

 

[RustInPeace]

Hey, don't insult poor Dunsparce comparing him to these trashbags. But I agree with everything else you said about this people.

It's going to get a mega evolution. I can feel it. They gave one to Audino, anything's possible.

 

[endoverend]

now I'm not saying that they should necessarily get capital punishment unless we're sure they actually meant to use them, but it there was evidence that they planned an attack they shouldn't be treated any different from the Boston marathon bombers.

Do you really think that someone who had 2 guns in their car and posted pictures of them on facebook should be judged the same as someone who killed 3 people and injured hundreds of others? That doesn't even make sense.

LOL, okay I exaggerated that a bit, but you get the point. Essentially, we have a mismatch of opinions. You think we should be lenient because it never really happened anyways. All's well that ends well, right? Well I think you're gonna have a bad time if you wanna wait until somebody shoots up kids before you start doing decisive action against these kinds of domestic threats. I say stop the people who wanna shoot up kids, permanently. Not right away, they must still be given the chance to prove otherwise (especially in cases like this, where they're caught red-handed with weapons), but it has to be fast, has to be decisive.

Also, if this is some kind of a really bad joke on their part, then I say take their genes out of the gene pool even more. We don't need that kind of idiocy who thinks it's "funny" to "play pretend" shooting up kids by bringing deadly weapons and live ammunition to a place where kids gather. The kind of people who think this is funny are sociopaths. SOCIOPATHS. Sick in the head. Write them off the face of the earth, I say.

You have to understand that there are always going to be people who want to or intend to inflict terrorist acts of murder on various people. And I agree that these people need to be stopped. But the death penalty is reserved as punishment for one act and one act only-- the felony murder of at least one other person. It's also true that in certain cases the accomplice in a mass murder could be charged with the death penalty as well. But regardless, no murder was committed, period. I'm not arguing that these psychopaths did nothing wrong, I'm just stating that the death penalty is obviously very serious, and is not intended for "removing genes from the gene pool", but rather for actual punishment for actual murder.

You want fast? You want decisive? Well you've obviously never dealt with the US judicial system. But there are first responders and the police force whose first priority is to put people who endanger the public in jail. And that's exactly what happened. As long as these people are in prison they can't do anything wrong. A death penalty is way more serious than a lifetime prison sentence, which would be way more appropriate in this situation, if at all.

 

[Foxi4]

(...) a death penalty isn't justifiable because the crime of murder was never committed.

Death penalty aside, at which point is punishment justifiable? Would it be justifiable if they were apprehended on the scene with their guns on their backs? Maybe the moment they grab the grips? Is it after their fingers touch the triggers? Perhaps when they start aiming? At which point should the future assailants be considered dangerous and stopped? Once the bullets leave the muzzles or after they hit their targets? Does someone have to die in order for them to be guilty of anything?

See, this is why the concept of "prevention" exists. If there is a mountain of evidence supporting the fact that Mr.X planned to blow up the local supermarket in a suicide bomb attack, including a belt of explosives, a bunch of suicide letters and a tram ticket, you don't wait for him to actually blow himself up - you put him in jail because there isn't even a shadow of doubt regarding what he intended to do. You don't need a pile of bodies here, in fact, you want to prevent bloodshed from even happening. This isn't "thought crime" territory - if the preparations are apparent, there's enough evidence to step in.

 

[ferofax]

- snip -

Don't worry, I read the entire post.

But again, good guys too concerned over justifying things. I guess it's probably just my rebellious streak, but I really have no problem with... certain kinds of people... dealing with threats to society in ways that humans laws cannot provide.

If certain people want to hurt innocents, I certainly won't mind it if someone preemptively takes these certain people out of the picture. In ways that horrifies them the way we are horrified by their wanting to hurt innocents.

Let's just say that when the rules you enforce is too concerned with punishment instead of with prevention, then there's something wrong with the rules. With punishment, the deed is done - people hurt, lives lost. Not so with prevention. But I guess that's free will at its finest, eh? The right to make the choice - even if the choice you make ends up with lots of innocent lives lost. That's the kind of power we give the bad guys.

Ah, but I digress. Just think of this as an opinion piece.

 

[Monado_III]

Do you really think that someone who had 2 guns in their car and posted pictures of them on facebook should be judged the same as someone who killed 3 people and injured hundreds of others? That doesn't even make sense.

"12-gauge shotgun, an AR-15 rifle, several hundred rounds of ammunition". Don't pretend they did nothing more than post a picture on facebook, they took that picture with the guns (IIRC they weren't even legally allowed to own) and then went to the tournament with the guns and a ton of ammo. On the FB post one of the people being charged even implied killing people, so that probably means that they were A)planning something and are were complete morons or B)genuine idiots who don't see how idiotic they are.

And I'm not saying they essentially are the boston marathon bombers, but that planning a terrorist attack or actually going through with it should be treated as the same thing. If it turns out they were actually planning an attack I hope they are tried as terrorists.