Texas department of public safety director col. Steven McCraw has claimed that “cyber gaming” could be one of the causes of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde on May 24. Nineteen students and two teachers were killed in the shooting.
McCraw explained how the shooter was “into cyber gaming in that regard, and group gaming,” insinuating that there could be a correlation between the recent mass shooting and video games.
Blaming video games is not a new excuse for politicians and leaders. It’s an easy out for a problem, providing a scapegoat to distance these tragic events from the real issues. In 2019, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy claimed “video games that dehumanize individuals” were the problem and one of the causes for the mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. Former President Donald Trump also claimed video games create “a culture that celebrates violence” in a press conference after the shootings in Texas and Ohio, creating a narrative that video games are a contributing factor.
But multiple studies establish there is no connection between video games and acts of violence. As reported by NBC, a 2019 Oxford University study found that “violent video game engagement is not associated with adolescents’ aggressive behavior.” Three other studies came to the same conclusion, indicating violent games have little to no blame for these acts of violence. But Texas officials are still using video games as a possible reason for the most recent atrocity that took the lives of 19 children and two teachers.
McCraw also gave a detailed timeline of the shooting, providing more insight about why officers took over an hour to breach the barricaded room, how the on-sight police commander made “the wrong decision” by waiting to enter, and how they’re looking into new leads, including “cyber gaming.”
