HUNTINGTON, NY (News 12/CNN) - A 45-year-old man was arrested after police say he sent threatening messages via Xbox to an 11-year-old boy who beat him in the popular online video game "Fortnite."
Michael Aliperti, 45, was charged with second degree aggravated harassment and acting in a manner to injure a child after his arrest Tuesday.
Police say Aliperti threatened the 11-year-old using text and voice messages over the Xbox platform. In the messages, which were sent Monday, the man threatened to shoot the boy, possibly at his school.
"He said, 'I'm going to find you with a gun' and other threats about 'You need to look over your back when you're walking,'" Police Chief Stuart Cameron said.
The boy and his parents reported the incident to police Monday, and authorities say they stepped up patrols at the child's school. Aliperti did not directly threaten the school, according to Cameron, but did say he knew where the boy went to school.
Police say Aliperti had been introduced to the 11-year-old by other juvenile friends, and they had been playing "Fortnite" over the course of several months.
"Parents should be cautioned: you have no idea… who people are playing with," Cameron said.
Aliperti’s attorney says his client is a father of three with no criminal record and is in the middle of a contested divorce.
Copyright 2018 News 12 Long Island, Suffolk Police Department, Epic Games/Fortnite via CNN. All rights reserved. Raycom News Network contributed to this report.
