Lawsuit blames computer games for shooting

The families of Jessica James, Kayce Steger and Nicole Hadley, who were killed during a morning
prayer meeting at Heath High School in West Paducah, Kentucky, USA during a
shooting on Dec. 1, 1997 by Michael Carneal, a 14-year-old boy, filed a
$130 million damage suit against several entertainment companies on Monday,
saying they influenced his behavior. The suit claims that the boy was an
avid user of the computer, playing computer games such as "Doom," "Quake,"
and "Mortal Kombat," which it said are known for their graphic violence.
The computer games, the suit claimed, "trained Carneal to point and shoot a
gun in a fashion making him an ... effective killer without teaching him
any of the constraints or responsibilities needed to inhibit such a killing
capacity." Carneal was sentenced to life imprisonment, with no chance of
parole for 25 years in December 1998.