It all started so innocently. After all, "he was joking and had no intention of following through with the threats," say the documents of the court.
But joking or not, 19-year-old Allieu Shaw of Frostburg State University found himself on the wrong side of the law, thanks to allegations of his threatening to "shoot up the school" made online through voice chat in a round of Call of Duty 4, complete with details of just how he was going to do it.
Admit it, if you went to the same school as this guy while he's telling you how he's going to kill everyone after making a headshot in-game, you'd be just a little nervous, too.
Once FSU got word of the perceived threat from fellow player Kaipo Damurand of Oregon, they took the measure of locking things down, alongside the Eckhart Alternative School and St. Michael School in Frostburg, and FSU has since suspended Shaw on an interim basis, pending an administrative hearing.
Last Tuesday at 2pm, Shaw found himself in handcuffs, and ten minutes later, police executed a search warrant of the suspect's room, but found no weapons or other evidence related to the threat. In addition, a search of the Maryland Judiciary Case Search Web site turned up a clean record for Shaw.