14-year-old in court

Shooting game at school: “I wanted to be cool”

Symbolic image

(Bild: stock.adobe.com)

Two secondary school pupils (14) from Upper Styria announced on Snapchat that they wanted to play Russian roulette at their school. That's why they stood before the criminal court in Leoben on Tuesday.

The two pupils (14) enter the jury courtroom in Leoben (Styria) uncertainly and with their heads bowed. "Nobody would have expected a Snapchat conversation to end up in court," says experienced juvenile court judge Peter Wilhelm as he opens the hearing. "They wanted to play Russian roulette at school, they wanted to start with two female teachers," says public prosecutor Andreas Petritsch.

Pictures with a gun
They added strange pictures to the words. A pistol, for example. "It belonged to my father. He sold it five years ago, the picture is a reminder of that," later explained the second defendant, a slight boy from Hungary who had only reached the age of criminal responsibility shortly before the crime. "Others take photos of their vacation as a memory," the judge remarks.

There is also a picture showing a variation of knives and a hoe. The young man describes it as a "Miskolc starting kit". Because: "This is a city in Hungary that is known for its dangerousness and knife attacks," he explains to the presiding judge.

"Beaten and insulted as a criminal"
For the two men's defense lawyers, the criminal offense of criminal conspiracy is not fulfilled. "The complaint was correct, as was the investigation. But too much excitement was sown here, and then everything became public. My client is now being bullied at school, he is undergoing psychological treatment," criticized the first defendant's defence lawyer. He confirms that he is not only teased, but also beaten and called a "criminal" and "arms dealer".

I am now being teased, beaten and called a criminal at school.

Der Erstangeklagte

"Yes, what they did is absolutely morally reprehensible. The fact that everything became public made them even more tormented. They deserved it," admits the defense lawyer for the second defendant and speaks of a rascal's skirmish.

Schoolgirl got the investigation rolling
The story came to light because an attentive and courageous schoolmate, who was also a member of the threesome chat, was shocked by the messages. At the end of the trial, she received well-deserved praise from the judge: "What you did wasn't snitching, it was absolutely right and great!"

Judge Peter Wilhelm

(Bild: Heinz Weeber)

But how did the two of them come up with the idea of writing something like that in the first place? "Reading through your chats makes you feel queasy," remarks Mr. Rat. "I didn't think it was that bad. I wanted to seem cool," says the first defendant. His buddy admits something similar: "I wanted people to like me and knew that boys of that age think it's cool. I know what Russian roulette is, I've seen it on YouTube. I suggested the teachers because they weren't as nice to me on the first day of school as the others," explains the second defendant, who has only been attending the secondary school in question since September last year and was previously home-schooled by his parents.

"Check your children's cell phones!"
And Mr. Rat immediately takes them to task: "Why do children of this age have access to photos with weapons? It would be important for parents to check what their children have on their cell phones, and there are time limits!" "I promise to make sure he never has access to weapons again," his father asserts from the auditorium.

You can't get any more stupid than that. You've made a huge mistake. I hope peace returns to the Enns Valley now. And to the parents: check the contents of your children's cell phones!

Richter Peter Wilhelm

100 hours of community service
Based on the descriptions during the trial, public prosecutor Andreas Petritsch even extended the criminal complaint, as he also considers the offense of making a dangerous threat to be fulfilled. In the end, the two defendants got off lightly. Judge Peter Wilhelm rejects the criminal conspiracy. However, he does agree with the dangerous threat.

He offers diversion in the form of 100 hours of community service to be completed in six months. If the students fulfill this, the proceedings against them are dropped and they remain blameless.