Prosecutors: Student made shooting threat, Minecraft video

NUTLEY, N.J. (AP) — Authorities say a New Jersey student accused of making an online threat against his high school posted a video created in the popular video game Minecraft showing a shooting at a replica of the school.

<a target=”&mdash;blank” href=”http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2018/02/prosecutor%E2%80%94nutley%E2%80%94school%E2%80%94threat%E2%80%94suspect%E2%80%94had%E2%80%94minecr.html”>NJ.com reports</a> that Joseph Rafanello’s avatar can be seen walking through the virtual school, complete with lockers and the sound of gunshots in the background.

The new information was discussed Wednesday during a detention hearing for the 18-year-old Nutley High School student. A judge rejected prosecutors’ request to keep him in custody until his trial, ordering that he instead be placed on home detention.

Rafanello was charged with creating a false public alarm for a video that spurred the closure of Nutley schools Feb. 16. It shows teens firing guns and children in a classroom.

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