What would you do if you saw a threat against someone or a suicide note online?

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In our September 2009 story “Countdown to a School Burning,” writer Lisa Fitterman reports how a young Montreal man stopped a planned school attack in England. It all started when JP Neufeld spotted a threat on an Internet portal he moderate. There someone calling himself sirtom93 had posted a message saying he would “attack my school with arson and other forms of violence.”

Neufeld had seen online threats before, but had dismissed them as youthful hyperbole. He was torn, but eventually contacted police in Norfolk, England, who did take him seriously. Police monitored the site, learned sirtom93’s real identify and thwarted his plans.

But not everyone takes online threats seriously.

Abraham Biggs, a 19-year-old college student in Pembroke Pines, Fla., committed suicide in November 2008 right in front of his webcam. First he posted a link on a bodybuilding site inviting people to watch. Twelve hours after Biggs took a lethal overdose of drugs, police arrived but too late. The webcam was still running, and people were still checking in on Biggs’ status.

A local area coroner who was intereviewed said he likely could have been saved if someone online had contacted authorities early on, rather than waiting for over 6 hours.

What about you? If you saw an online threat or suicide note, what would you do? Let us know your thoughts: Join the Debate.

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