Prosecutors: Student made shooting threat, Minecraft video

NUTLEY, N.J. – 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.

NJ.com reports 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.