A man has been arrested in Detroit, Michigan after shooting and killing a teenager during the sale of a video game. The event becomes the latest story about video game thefts involving guns, as in April, a group of children in the nearby state of Ohio were held at gunpoint while masked robbers stole video game consoles from their home.

Police say that a father in Detroit has been taken into custody after firing at a would-be video game thief. The man's son was meeting another teen, 15, to buy a video game from him. The transaction turned into a robbery, say police, and the teenaged seller of the video game pulled out a gun and shot the other teen, hitting him in the face. At this point, the father of the victim got out his gun and began firing at the seller, killing the alleged robber. The man's son was rushed to the hospital. The man was arrested and police are now investigating whether the killing of the teen was justified.

In a press conference, police said that while they couldn't speak about whether the father's response was "appropriate," the violence was "senseless." A neighbor, who lives close to the scene of the shooting, also called the events "ridiculous," saying it's "just a video game" and that she doesn't understand "why" this happened.

This event, sadly, isn't the first of its kind in the country. Just a week ago, an 11 year old from North Carolina told reporters how he used a machete to defend himself from a robber trying to steal video games. That alleged robber was armed with a BB gun but the rifle was unloaded. In that case, only the robber was harmed as the 11 year old hit him in the back of the head with the knife.

In May, police in Virginia also revealed that a woman had been arrested after stealing Chinese takeout and a PlayStation console from multiple homes. The suspect wasn't armed and no one was hurt.

There have also been stories about serial video game thieves, and multiple people who have tried to steal Nintendo Switch consoles from children. Not all of these stories have ended in death or serious injury but it does show how valuable criminals see video games and video game consoles and owners should be on the lookout for suspicious activity.

Source: Hawaii News Now

Image source: Flickr - Sean Davis with Creative Commons license