'Active Shooter' Video Game Raises Concern & Sparks Backlash

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) — Parents and student survivors from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School are disgusted over a soon to be released video game called "Active Shooter."

The game simulates a school shooting where the player can chose to be the shooter or a SWAT team member.

The father of murdered student Jaime Guttenberg said he is horrified and thinks the game should not be released.

"My daughter died in an actual school shooting 3 months ago along with 16 others, we just had 10 die Texas. We've had others, this is simply unacceptable," said Fred Guttenberg.

Others agree including 15-year-old Austin Foote who ran for his life the day of the massacre.

"When you make a game about something in real life that can happen to us, that actually happened to me , it's not only offensive, it's disgusting, why would you make a game a about a school shooting, it's so messed up," said the Marjory Stoneman Douglas student.

Austin says he can't imagine someone finding entertainment from a game about something that has taken so many young lives.

Austin's mom Annika remembers the horror of that day, not knowing what would happen to her son and she survived a mass shooting herself.

"I didn't have an escape, there was nowhere for me to go," recalled Annika. She was just feet away from Esteban Santiago when he pulled out a gun and opened fire at Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport.  She dove for cover while a stranger shielded her from bullets. She is disgusted.

"I hope that decent people everywhere rise up against this and boycott it like crazy. This should be unacceptable in our society."

A statement on the digital distribution platform said, in part, "This game does not promote any sort of violence, especially any sort of mass shooting. As I said in the description of the game: Active Shooter is essentially a dynamic SWAT simulator in which dynamic roles are offered to players."  It goes on to say, "After receiving such high amount of critics and hate, I will more likely remove the shooters role in this game by the release."

The release date is set for June 6.

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