9-year-old Damori Miles dies in jump off Brooklyn apartment, may have been imitating video game

From the Daily News A 9-year-old wrestling fan jumped off his Brooklyn apartment roof wearing a homemade parachute in a fatal imitation of his favorite video game character, friends said.

The broken body of Damori Miles was found on the ground outside the Albany Houses about 7 p.m. Tuesday.

[SinnedNogara]

It isn't that the boy was inspired by the game, it is that he was kinda....uh, what's the word...retarded.

Seriously, if you have a IQ over 75, and are over the age of 6, then you should be able to know that doing wrestling moves off buildings is BAD!!!!

[ShadesMoolah]

I don't ever recall the Hardy's using parachutes to perform their moves, looks like another case of 'blame the game'. Condolences to the family, but that door should have been locked, not the game.

[Timesplitter14]

Don't you understand? Video games INVENTED accidents. No one ever died before the 1980's because they couldn't copy those satanic games.

[Milky Joe]

Pong alone wiped out pretty much 50% of the World's population.

[SinnedNogara]

@ Milky Joe

LOL, bubbles for humor!!! (even though you're swimming in them).

I would like some bubbles now.

On Topic: You see, you don't give "slow" children video games. They just copy it, like a little 2 year old and cuss words. I feel sorry for the family. He died for a stupid reason.

[WeaseL]

I'm surprised they haven't linked Pacman to the increase in drug users over the years.
Keep eating those pills people especially the ones that allow you to eat ghosts.

[thesummerofgeorge]

Video games don't raise or take care of your children, parents do.... Not to mention a 9 year old had no business playing that game. Tragic yes, but it has no relation to video games... Even if a child was imitating a game like that, it's still not the games fault, parents need to teach their children the difference between entertainment and reality, and then teach them good judgment, and THEN start buying age appropriate games for them. And how the hell would his friend know if he was imitating jeff harding if he wasn't there? Lets use this childs tragic death to take shots at the gaming industry. If he had have been watching wrestling instead of playing it, would we blame tv? WHERE WERE THE PARENTS!?

[jadenkorri]

darwin award winner... why you say, a plastic bag and string says it all

i loved this part "The roof door was open Wednesday morning, and the alarm that should have gone off was broken, neighbors said. "

yeah rather than blame the superintendent/owner of the building, lets blame a video game he always played, a game that has no flying people let alone someone in a parachute....

[-EvoAnubis-]

I'm sure the kid just played the game and never.....I don't know....ACTUALLY WATCHED WWE WRESTLING. So sure, blame it all on the game.

I'm sorry this happened, but once again, let's not be pointing fingers here. Can someone please explain to me why a nine-year old special education student was allowed to roam freely around ****ing Brooklyn? Also, can someone please show me exactly at what point in the game (or even in actual wrestling) where someone dropped off of a building with a parachute?

Can parents PLEASE start taking some goddamned responsibility here? Why is that so hard? You had the kid, so be responsible for him/her, and stop making excuses when something like this happens!

My heart goes out to the family here, it really does, but I can't condone finger pointing. That's bullsh*t.

[Max Power]

most certainly blame cartoons more than i would videogames, because i am sure there are some instances of cartoon characters doing exactly what that poor child did, without any consequences or even failure of the stunt.

[Mindboggle]

I was patiently waiting for this story to come on N4G and how fabricated it was going to end up.

The whole story is a joke...Like a WWE spokesperson said, noone in WWE or their games jumps off 13 story buildings with parachutes. It was obviously a combination of bad parenting and a very disturbed kid.

[thebudgetgamer]

but he wont jump off of building because he knows thats retated. but i do feel for the family.

:(

[Xander-RKoS]

Who was watching him? The mother said she was at the store...basically meaning she was using the video game/ TV as a baby sitter for a special education child. Parental Responsibility FTW!

[hatchimatchi]

this was mother natures way of saying, you don't belong here stupid. Being 9 years old and not knowing how gravity works=epic fail.

[Incognegro]

a lil harsh huh? I mean... yea even though he was 9, but he was obviously a special needs kid. or atleast just a little slower. even though it wasn't the smartest thing to do... that's still kind of a rude statement even if you didn't know the kid.

[hatchimatchi]

it's not like you knew the kid either. Laughing at other people's expense is one of the best things about the internet.

[Phantom_T]

He copied a game and killed himself.
Lovely.
luckily he didnt live long enough to be able to buy a gun,and copy a first person shooter.
genes removed from genepool.
These are the people who shouldnt be allowed games.

[ape007]

get a life please

I feel sorry for his family,maybe he wasn't fully aware of reality,he fell,he didn't relise that life is a b!tch

[NateNater]

buy why are video games always the first to blame when an unfortunate event like such occurs? There is plenty of violence found in other forms of media, such as television or movies, that could have influenced such behavior. And when people blame video games, it always makes the industry look like it is evil. If a parent is allowing their child to play such inappropriately themed games, then isn't it more the fault of the parent as opposed to the game?

My condolences to the family on their tragic loss. Cut the kid some slack, he was only 9 years old.
Damori Miles, R.I.P.

[hatchimatchi]

it's because people are no longer held accountable for their actions. From what the article says, the kid was either retarded or had a learning disability. He shouldn't have been left home alone. So instead of saying, "hey mom, watch your kid" the media says, "shame on video games"

plus what do people think the rating system is for, i can't imagine a wresting game being rated E, i would imagine it being T. I could be wrong though.

[Phantom_T]

This isn't developers faults or people who retailers when this kind of thing happens.
People with mental disabilities should NOT be allowed to play violent games.,it isn't discrimination its just common sense.
I'm sick and tired of telling my neighbour to stop letting her twelve year old autistic kid play manhunt and this is the exact reasons why.

[hatchimatchi]

that sounds like a recipe for disaster

[redsquad]

Oh, let's ban EVERYTHING just in case everyone completely abandons any sense of personal responsibilty and seeks to blame SOMETHING other than themselves for any future accident, misdeed or tragedy that may occur.

No wonder that, as a rule, I prefer animals to people. Dispicable also that such a tragedy will probably end up being used as ammunition by some lobbyist or other self-appointed pressure group.

[DirtyLary]

darwinism.

[TheIneffableBob]

Natural selection works its magic.

[George Sears]

The kid was an idiot. I am sorry but I call it as I see it.

[Stryfeno2]

Its must of been Nasim after he saw the NPD numbers...

Seriously, kids these days have problems...Just take a look at N4G.

[KingKionic]

lol...but seriously sorry for kid.

[KingKionic]

damn...just damn.

[Jsynn7]

I work for and advertising company editing newspaper/magazine ads in NY. I scanned this from the Daily News. It's pretty crazy.

[Tony P]

"Jeff Harding"? Needs more research.

[NegativeCreep427]

What the F*ck were the parents/guardians doing to let this kid have enough time to craft a makeshift parachute, get on top of the roof of an apartmant building, and make the jump?

If the parents knew how to be responsible, they would have stopped the kid even before he had finished making the parachute.

But OHHHH NOOOO! Movies and Videogames are the Scapegoat that can allow the moronic parents of today get away with being complete irresponsible douchbags!

[morganfell]

What has occurred is this kid was an idiot. Whether he was raised to be less than aware of what every human being understands or else he was impaired and his parents exercised poor judgment is not the issue. Regardless his parents blame themselves.

Along comes mister ambulance chaser and he says, "Hey it isn't your fault. It was the video game. Your son wasn't an idiot and you are not to blame. You were not a poor parent"

Some lawyer offers them a way out of their moral dilemma. A way to prove, THIS WAS NOT THEIR FAULT. So by suing Sony, Raw, whomever, they are vindicating themselves. A victory in the trial would allow them to feel publicly exonerated. They are not conscious of this decision. They just know this has to be true. It is the only blade of grass they can grasp on the blame cliff.

That doesn't excuse them from their moron behavior in seeking such an excuse. They need to be big enough to realize it was a tragedy and not really anyone's fault. Of course that would mean accepting the fallibility of a child. Something they can't do so the lawyer is really rubbing his hands right now.

[ballsofsteel]

blame the game not the parents right? seriously so many parent just sit their kids in front of video games or tv and wonder were they went wrong

[Eromu]

>Shakar, Damori's best friend, said his pal was imitating his favorite
>PlayStation2 game, "WWE SmackDown vs Raw."
>
>"He tried to do a swan dive like Jeff Harding does in 'SmackDown.'
>That was his favorite game. He played it all the time," Shakar said.

Ok... if no one witnessed him actually jumping off the roof, isn't the above excerpt just a 11-year old's assumptions?

[birdy966]

I love wrestling and its jeff hardy not harding

[lrn2hate]

This kid was flippen stupid.

[Phantom_T]

Well,he WAS copying Jeff Hardy...

[Bathyj]

Issac Newton must be shaking his head.

[squidyj]

It's a terrible tragedy but it's really not the games fault. For starters I'm pretty sure that they don't have apartment buildings for you to jump off of in that game. It seems to me that blaming the game is about as logical as blaming the makers of garbage bags because their products don't provide sufficient lift to be suitable to use for parachutes.

[Eromu]

Parachutes don't provide lift bro, they provide air resistance.

[Software_Lover]

I can only imagine the feeling of falling like that. My sympathy goes to the parents and family

[Kappa Mikey]

lol jeff harding

[terrandragon]

She should have made sure that he was safe at home. It would have been a lot safer for the child to be with his mother. Who knows what else could have happened? That is just pure irresponsibility on her part. She also did not check that all the doors or windows were locked so no one would get in.

[Black Maverick]

Someone should've told him they are better ways to get downstairs.

[Bathyj]

Better, yeah, but not quicker.
.
.
.
.
.
What? Too soon?

[360isthebestps3sucks]

because have ps3... :D

[Timesplitter14]

Mentally stable children don't immitate games

Mentally unstable children do this kind of stuff even without games

What's next? Child smashes his head into a wall trying to immitate a ball in Pong?

[specialguest]

This kinda reminds me of back when I was around 3 or 4 yrs old. My friend told my brothers and I that if we jumped off the 2nd floor balcony, angels will catch us and we'll start flying. We dared each other to do it, and I was really tempted to give it a try. Fortunately, none of us had the faith and courage to take that leap.

[kvg88]

But yeah - why blame the game? The kid's too young to even be watching wrestling or playing that game. That's irresponsible of the parents plain and simple.

[greyfox235]

poor kid

[Bathyj]

Yeah, its our fault the kid doesn't know not to jump off a roof.

In case any kids are reading, dont stay under water for 3 minutes or put any fire in your hair either. Its just common sense.

[amrasmord]

Title ^

[Shnazzyone]

Bad Parenting.

[Knightofelemia]

Where were the parents in this they should have been keeping a closer watch on him. And its not just videogames they imitate but also what they see on tv and at school to. Putting the sole blame on videogames is wrong. Why not put the blame on Disney as well for little girls imitating Hannah Montana seems like something goes wrong and they automatically put the blame on videogames as far as I remeber there is a rating system on the games that explains to parents about the game and whats in it just like movies have a rating system to.

[2Negativecool]

I don't feel an ounce of sympathy for this tard.

[greyfox235]

thats low

[SinnedNogara]

Give the kid a break, he had a mental disability.

[2Negativecool]

Go mate with another retard of your kind.

[Strife Lives]

but their the 1st to point fingers.its pathetic. And the world loses a precious life to bad parenting.

[Etseix]

negative is right, its parents fault on every way, i hate when people take the videogames as theyr *scapegoat* its bull**t!!

[hellomrhieu]

The actual wrestling came before the video game? Somehow it's the video games fault with no mention of the wrestling programs that air on TV?

[Bengoshi-San]

This has nothing to do with video-games, but has more to do with a 9 year old who has no sense of reality and fantasy.

I'm sorry for the family's loss.

[Arkem]

Of course, it's the video game's fault like always... >.>

They should use video games to teach people. For example, the GTA "hot coffee" (is it called hot coffee?) could be used for sex-ed. = )

[outlawlife]

the mother is just trying to pawn it off on games, if you read the article nobody was even around while he did it

great parenting to leave a 9 year old with mental issues alone to his own devices, a door open to the roof of a building, and then blame it on a video game

[lizard81288]

"Robert Zimmerman, a spokesman for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), said the video was designed for ages 13 and up and none of the characters use parachutes or jump off buildings."

thats right. i haven't played this game or watched Wrestling since i was like 8, but as far as i can remember this holds true.

and blaming it on the game? nobody was watching the kids, so it must have been the video games fault right, because thats his fav game? i suppose you also blame his bad behavior on that rap music too right?

lol, jumping off a house with a plastic bag as a parachute
XD that made my day.

even though he was 9, shouldn't he have known better? and how'd he get on the roof too?

edit---------

*cough*...........so he's dead...
>_>
<_<
thats what i get for skimming through the article, instead of reading it.but still, what it boils down to is bad parenting