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.”
