Edward Kang and the hammer he is accused of using to try and kill another gamer over an online video game dispute (Nassau County Sheriff’s Office)
A 20-year-old gamer from New Jersey is accused of flying nearly 1,000 miles to try and kill another gamer with a hammer because the two had gotten into an “online altercation” while playing video games.
Edward Kang was taken into custody in Florida on Sunday and charged with one count of attempted second-degree murder and one count of armed burglary over the violent incident, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
According to a probable cause affidavit, authorities say that following the spat, Kang flew from Newark Liberty International Airport to Jacksonville International Airport to assault the victim, whom he had never before met in person.
Deputies with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office at about 2 a.m. on June 23, responded to a home located in the 1300 block of Harrison Point Trail in Fernandina Beach, Florida, which is about 160 miles north of Orlando. Upon arriving at the scene, the lead detective said deputies could see “a substantial amount of blood located near the entryway and into a bedroom leading to the right of the doorway.”
Kang and the victim were no longer at the scene, but the detective spoke to the victim’s stepfather, who said that he had been awakened by the sounds of his stepson “screaming for help.”
“‘Once (the stepfather) approached (the victim) he observed him lying face down on the ground and noticed (the victim) was laying atop another individual who was in possession of a hammer,” the affidavit states. “(The stepfather) stated he had never observed this individual before this encounter and that no one was expected to be at the residence.”
At the hospital, the victim received several stitches to close his head wounds and gave investigators his version of events.
“(The victim) stated he was playing an online game. While playing this game, (the victim) went to use the bathroom and walked toward the doorway of the room and opened the door,” the document states. “Once (the victim) opened the door he noticed a person standing with a hammer raised in the air in an anticipated strike position. The suspect, later found to be Edward Kang, struck (the victim) atop the head with this hammer. (The victim) cited remembering being struck once with the hammer but believed it to be several times.”
The two allegedly struggled briefly with the victim managing to get the hammer away from Kang as he screamed for help. The stepfather arrived a few moments later and they were able to detain Kang until police arrived.
The victim’s mother told police that because they live in a gated community and feel safe, she sometimes leaves the door unlocked.
One of the first responders at the scene told the lead detective that after they placed Kang under arrest, the victim and the stepfather asked Kang “why he did what he did.” Kang allegedly replied, “He is a bad person online.” Kang then reportedly asked the deputy, “How much time is breaking and entering and assault?”
Deputies searching Kang’s motel room said they found a receipt from a Jacksonville Ace Hardware store for the hammer used in the attack.
Per the affidavit, Kang’s mother told investigators her son left their New Jersey home on the evening of June 20, telling her he was going on vacation with “a friend he met years ago on an online video game.”
Kang is currently being held in the Nassau County Detention Center without bond. He is scheduled to appear in court again on June 27.
During a news conference, Sheriff Bill Leeper clarified that Kang knew the victim from playing ArcheAge online, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). He also said the victim was “around the same age” as Kang.
“This is a weird one. Some things you just can’t make up. Some things that make you say ‘What in the world was he thinking?’” Leeper said.
He later added, “I would say, Mr. Kang, it will be a long time before you play video games,” Leeper said.
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