BLAMED GAME: Authorities want to know if the ultraviolent sandbox game GoreBox influenced the behavior of one of the teen suspects in Monday’s Tacloban school shooting that left three students dead and 20 others wounded. The incident revived concerns first aired in other countries about the effects of such online content on the psyche of minors. —GoreBox screengrab
MANILA, Philippines — The government on Tuesday ordered the temporary blocking of the online shooting game GoreBox as authorities intensified their investigation into whether exposure to the platform may have influenced one of the teenage suspects in the school shooting in Tacloban City that left three students dead and at least 20 others wounded.
The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) said the “precautionary measure” was taken after police investigators found that one of the suspects, a 14-year-old Grade 9 student, had been playing GoreBox before Monday’s attack at San Jose National High School.
Undersecretary Alexander “Aboy” Paraiso, CICC executive director, said authorities could not ignore the possibility that online content may have contributed to the actions of the two minors involved in one of the worst school shootings in recent Philippine history.
