14-year-old in court for shooting game at school: ‘I wanted to be cool’

Uncertain and with their heads bowed, the two students (14) enter the jury courtroom in Leoben (Stemk.). “No one expected that a Snapchat conversation would end up in court,” experienced juvenile judge Peter Wilhelm opened the hearing. “They wanted to play Russian roulette at school, and they wanted to start with two teachers,” said prosecutor Andreas Petritsch.

Photos with a gun
They added strange images to the words. Like a gun. “It was my father’s. He sold it five years ago, the photo is a reminder of that,” later explains the second defendant, a little boy from Hungary who had only reached the age of criminal responsibility shortly before the crime. “Others take photos of their holidays as souvenirs,” the judge notes.

There is also a photo with a variety of knives and a hoe. The young man describes it as a “Miskolc starter pack”. Because: “This is a city in Hungary known for its dangerousness and knife attacks,” he explains to the chairman.

‘Be beaten and called a criminal’
For the lawyers of the two, the crime of criminal conspiracy has not been fulfilled. “The report was correct, as was the investigation process. But there was too much excitement here and then everything became public. “My client is now being bullied at school and is undergoing psychological treatment,” criticizes the lawyer of the first defendant. He confirms that he is not only teased, but also beaten and called a “criminal” and “arms dealer”.

“Yes, what they did is absolutely morally reprehensible. Making everything public tormented them even more. They deserve that too,” the lawyer for the second defendant admits, but speaks of villainous banter.

The student initiated the investigation
The story came to light because a thoughtful and courageous classmate, who was also a member of the three-way chat, was shocked by the news. At the end of the hearing, she was rightly praised by the judge: “What you did was not traitorous, but completely right and wonderful!”

But how did they come up with the idea to write something like this together? “When you read through your chats, you start to feel uncomfortable,” Mr. Rat notes. “I didn’t mind it that much. “I wanted to seem cool,” says the first defendant. His friend admits something similar: “I wanted people to like me and I knew boys that age would find that kind of thing cool. I know what Russian roulette is, I saw it on YouTube. I introduced the teachers because they were not as nice to me as the others on the first day of school,” explains the second defendant, who has only been attending the secondary school in question since September last year and was previously taught at home by his parents.

“Check your kids’ cell phones!”
And Mr. Rat immediately takes this into his prayers: “Why do children this age have access to photos with guns? It would be important for parents to be able to check what their children have on their mobile phones, and there are time limits for that!’ “I promise to make sure he never has access to guns again,” his father claims from the audience in the room.

100 community hours
Based on the descriptions during the trial, public prosecutor Andreas Petritsch even expanded the criminal complaint, because he also sees the criminal offense of dangerous threats as having been satisfied. Ultimately, the two defendants get off lightly. Judge Peter Wilhelm rejects the criminal conspiracy. But he can certainly agree with the dangerous threat.

He offers distraction in the form of 100 hours of community service, which must be completed in six months. If the students comply with this, the proceedings against them will be stopped and they will remain innocent.