Xbox Hacker Threatens to Kill NJ HS Student: Prosecutor

A Maryland teenager faces possible adult criminal charges in New Jersey for pretending to be a student at Berkeley Heights High School and threatening to bring a gun to school for "shooting fellow students."

He assumed the innocent student's ID through an Xbox Live account "following an online transaction involving the Madden NFL game," according to a press release from the office of the Union County Prosecutor.

"After obtaining this user name and password the Maryland teenager sent a message to nearly 100 people, including students at Berkeley Heights High School pretending to be the user," said Prosecutor Theodore Romankow.

According to the Prosecutor, in pretending to be the Berkeley Heights student, the Maryland teen "said he was going to bring a gun to school the following day and would be shooting fellow students.

But a police investigation determined the local youth's account had been hacked by the Maryland teen by tracing data through Microsoft(which operates Xbox) to a location in Maryland.

"This highlights another online danger that parents should be aware of," said Romankow in the press release, adding "There are multiple ways teenagers today can communicate with each other."

Romankow went on to say "This Berkeley Heights student was simply trying to play a game, and his online account was used for a criminal purpose.