Gamer Goes Into Shooting Spree From ‘Xbox Rage,’ Strikes Neighbor's Home

A Tennessee man was facing felony charges after he flew into a rage over an Xbox video game, and fired more than a dozen rounds from two different handguns into the ceiling and walls of the bedroom in his North Knox County home, reports said Thursday.

Casey L. Jones, 30, was playing his Microsoft Xbox when he suddenly started screaming at the game and smashed the consoles with his fists, reports said. He then proceeded to pick up his Springfield XDS handgun from his bedroom nightstand and fired several rounds into the ceiling.

Following this, he grabbed a second handgun, a Springfield XDM, and fired another round through the walls. One of the bullets went through a window and struck a house directly across the street where a family of three was at home. No one inside the house was injured and the bullet was later found lodged behind a window shutter by the authorities.

Officials said a total of 16 shell casings were found in Jones’ bedroom. A report on Fox News said Jones made threats of self-harm and had a history of the same as well. According to a report in Knox News, an unidentified woman who was at Jones’ home at the time of the incident said there was no trouble or argument beforehand and he never turned the gun on her.

"She stated that no argument had taken place, but the arrestee was playing Xbox when he suddenly had a breaking point and began screaming at the game," the arrest warrant said. "He smashed the gaming console with his fist, causing him to act out in more rage.” It remains unclear what game Jones was playing before the incident took place.

"The victim then told officers (Jones) went upstairs to the bedroom and began firing rounds through the ceiling and walls, but never pointed the firearm at her. The arrestee made threats of harming himself and has a history of making those same threats, according to the victim," it added.

Jones was charged with four counts of reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon. He has no previous criminal record in Knox County and was released on an $8,000 bond. Reports said he was scheduled to appear in court Nov. 14.

Video games can cause rage, but anger rising from a game being denied was more common than that from playing, John Kupfner, a psychiatrist with Peninsula Behavioral Health, in Lenoir City, said. He added this happens due to the addictive nature of video games and the connection players feel to fictional communities within games.

“People that play lots and lots of hours of these things, their online avatar becomes part of their identity,” he said, adding the struggles within a game can upset a gamer just as much as failures and disappointments in real life.

"Everything has to be in moderation," Kupfner said when asked about how gamers can stop themselves from falling into a rage.

In case of younger players, Kupfner said parents need to have a complete control over the gaming system and outline guidelines for when it can be used.