An online video game dispute spanning across states turned violent as a man hopped on a flight to Florida to attack another gamer with a hammer, police said.
“This is a weird one… some things you just can’t make up.” Florida’s Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper said on Monday.
Edward Kang, 20, of New Jersey, was taken to Nassau County Jail on an attempted second-degree murder charge after an online altercation with a gamer in Florida prompted him to fly to the state to confront the unnamed victim, authorities aid.
Kang boarded a Delta flight from Newark, New Jersey, at 7.35pm to Jacksonville International Airport in Florida that landed early morning on June 21. Kang then took an Uber to Ocean Coast Hotel in Fernandina Beach, where he was staying, telling his family before he left that he was going to visit a friend he met years ago through an online video game.
From late Saturday night to early Sunday morning, the victim was playing an online video game in his bedroom at a residence in Fernandina Beach, police said.
At one point he got up to go use the bathroom, but once he opened the door, he noticed the “suspect standing with the hammer raised in the air in an anticipated strike position, police said.
Kang was wearing all-black, gloves and a mask, and managed to get inside the house that night because it was unlocked, according to investigators. The pair then got into a scuffle, and the victim managed to wrestle him to the ground.
Around 2am Sunday, sheriff’s deputies responded to a call of a fight between two people. When deputies arrived, they found themselves surrounded by a “significant amount of blood” at the home’s entrance and in the victim’s bedroom, authorities noted.
Leeper said the victim’s stepfather was woken up by screams for help, finding his stepson on the ground with the attacker, who had the hammer in his possession.
Kang assaulted the victim with a hammer, and the victim was defending himself during the altercation, Leeper said. The victim and his stepfather managed to get the hammer from Kang and restrain him until the deputies arrived.
Both the victim and Kang were taken to the hospital, then Kang was then released into the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office’s custody.
The victim had severe head wounds, but it appeared to be non-life-threatening, Leeper said.
Kang had not been cooperating with the investigation, which Leeper said was “not surprising” and that he has requested a lawyer.
The sheriff’s office investigation revealed the victim and Kang initially met through an online video game known as ArcheAge, which is a fantasy-based massively multiplayer online game, where players can interact in an immersive virtual world. The two had never previously met in person.
When the suspect was asked about the attack, he told the investigators that “he is a bad person online, talking about the victim.”
Apart from that allegation, it is still unclear what happened between the two online that motivated Kang to board a plane and attack the gamer with a hammer.
Kang also asked how much time he could spend in jail, which Leeper summarized in the news conference as, “Mr Kang, it’s going to be a long time before you play video games again.”
The police added the incident should be a stark reminder of the potential real-world consequences that can arise from online interactions, as well as the importance of homes being securely locked.
Leeper added the investigation is still in its preliminary stage and that charges could still be upgraded.
