Six teenagers accused of a string of crimes including mugging and vandalism have blamed their behaviour on Grand Theft Auto, says a report on Newsday.com.
The mini crime wave began with a mugging outside a supermarket in New Hyde Park, Nassau County, New York on Wednesday 25th June and continued on into the early hours of Thursday as they robbed a driver and smashed vehicles with baseball bats and crowbars. After stealing cigerettes from a female motorist the police were alerted and apprehended six teenagers aged between 14 and 18. A police spokesman later told reporters that they got “certain admissions” and had been told that the six were “emulating the character in that Grand Theft Auto game, going on a crime spree”.
Of course this isn’t the first time Rockstar’s notorious game has been linked to a real-life incident. In 2003 17-year old Devin Thompson killed a police officer and two other men then stole a police car, allegedly emulating the actions of characters in one of his favourite games. Relatives of the victims later attempted to sue Take-Two, Sony and the store that sold Thompson the game.
