Minor boy shot dead mother, 3 siblings under the PUBG influence

According to police in the capital of Pakistan's Punjab province, a 14-year-old boy shot and killed his entire family, including his mother and two minor sisters, while reportedly "under the influence" of the online game PUBG.

Last week, Nahid Mubarak, a 45-year-old health worker, was discovered dead in Lahore's Kahna neighbourhood alongside her 22-year-old son Taimur and two daughters aged 17 and 11.

According to investigators, her adolescent son, who was unharmed and is the family's sole survivor, turned out to be the murderer.

"The PUBG (PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds) addict boy confessed to have killed her mother and siblings under the influence of the game. He has developed some psychological issues because of spending long hours of the day playing the online game," the statement said.

Nahid, according to police, was a divorcee who used to chastise the youngster for not paying attention in class and spending most of his time playing PUBG.

"On the day of the incident, Nahid scolded the boy over the matter. Later, the boy took out her mother's pistol from a cupboard and shot her and his three other siblings dead in their sleep.

"Next morning, the boy raised an alarm and the neighbours called the police. The boy that time told police that he was on the upper storey of the house and did not know how his family was killed," the statement said.

Nahid bought the licenced pistol for her family's safety, according to police, who added that the weapon has yet to be found from a drain where the child put it.

According to them, the suspect's blood-stained cloth has been found.

This is the fourth such crime linked to the online game in Lahore, according to a storey in the Dawn daily. When the first incidence came to light in 2020, then-capital city police officer Zulfiqar Hameed proposed banning the game to save millions of kids' lives, time, and future.

In the previous two years, three young players of the game have committed suicide, with the authorities citing PUBG as the cause of death in their papers.

Gaming disorder has been recognised by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a disease in the International Classification of Diseases.

Gaming disorder is defined as a pattern of behaviour characterised by impaired control over gaming (digital or video), prioritisation of gaming over other activities to the point where gaming takes precedence over other interests and daily activities and continued or escalation of gaming despite negative consequences.