Student arrested for violent threats on Wikipedia

Wiki - short for "what I know is". What they know at Wilson High is the school's page in the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, open to virtual editing by virtually anyone, was used for more than a year to hurl insults and make violent threats, mostly against Asian students. Molly Hennessy-Fiske has the story:

The writer, who said he was a student, hid behind an ... e-mail address to threaten by name Asian students at the San Gabriel Valley school, hurl racial slurs at the school's primarily Asian badminton team and allude to possible attacks.

"I would love to see her shot right between the eyes with blood gushing out from her mouth begging for mercy as she clings onto a single shred of life," read a message about an Asian student posted May 28, 2007. "Haha now there's a great fantasy."

Wiki staffers warned the school and two weeks ago, school officials and sheriff's detectives started investigating. What came next was more threats, a cat-and-mouse game and, finally, an arrest. Read Molly's full story here.

--Veronique de Turenne

Photo: Genaro Molino / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[bill shatner]

Wow. You don't want to overreact, but you don't want to under react either.

[Ruby]

Not that I condone what the kid did, but I wonder what he experienced at the school to get him so PO'd.

[L.A. Watcher]

It seem to me, this is a rejection problem between these two kids. "I would love to see her shot right between the eyes with blood gushing out from her mouth begging for mercy as she clings onto a single shred of life," read a message about an Asian student posted May 28, 2007. "Haha now there's a great fantasy." The school should investigate other students, if there is trend to this threat.