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Crime Games

Man Flies To Florida To Attack Another Player Over an Online Gaming Dispute (apnews.com) 123

Posted by BeauHD from the it's-just-a-game dept.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Associated Press: An online gaming dispute made its way to the real world when a New Jersey man flew to Florida to attack another player with a hammer, authorities said. Edward Kang, 20, is charged with attempted second-degree murder and armed burglary with a mask, according to Nassau County court records. He was arrested early Sunday morning. Kang and the victim, another young man around the same age as Kang, had never met in real life, but they both played ArcheAge, a medieval fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game. The game's publisher announced in April that it would be shutting down servers in Europe and North America on June 27, citing a declining number of active players.

Kang flew from Newark, New Jersey, to Jacksonville, Florida, last Thursday after telling his mother that he was going to visit a friend that he had met while playing a video game, officials said. Officials didn't say how Kang learned where the victim lives. Upon arrival, Kang took an Uber to a hotel in Fernandina Beach, about 35 miles north of Jacksonville, and then bought a hammer at a local hardware store, deputies said. Kang went to the victim's Fernandina Beach home, which was unlocked, around 2 a.m. Sunday, authorities said. The victim was walking out of his bedroom when he was confronted by Kang, who hit him on the head with the hammer, officials said. The two struggled as the victim called for help. His stepfather responded and helped to restrain Kang until police arrived. The victim suffered several head wounds that were not considered life-threatening, officials said. Online court records didn't list an attorney for Kang. He was being held without bond.
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Man Flies To Florida To Attack Another Player Over an Online Gaming Dispute More

Man Flies To Florida To Attack Another Player Over an Online Gaming Dispute

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  • back in the day some kids would just unplug the game to stop your from betting their score. But to go this far when some one beats your score.

  • Game Over (Score:3, Insightful)

    by registrations_suck ( 1075251 ) on Tuesday June 25, 2024 @11:41PM (#64578651)

    Game Over!!

    Get yourself a felony and ruin your life. Good job, dumbass!

    • Expect them to blame the video game instead of mental instability yet again.

      Tired of this demonization of anything not promoting dating, getting married, having children, consuming more and more houses, cars, vacations, expensive jewelry...

      1950s
      - Youth crime 'crisis'
      - Comic book scare - Seduction of the innocent - Congressional hearings on comic books
      - Rock and roll degenerates

      1960s
      - Youth culture
      - Hippies

      1970s ...

      1980s
      - Dungeons and Dragons
      - Video games
      - Heavy metal
      - Backward masking in music

      1990s
      -...

      2000s

      • Expect them to blame the video game instead of mental instability yet again.

        Tired of this demonization of anything not promoting dating, getting married, having children, consuming more and more houses, cars, vacations, expensive jewelry...

        1950s - Youth crime 'crisis' - Comic book scare - Seduction of the innocent - Congressional hearings on comic books - Rock and roll degenerates

        1960s - Youth culture - Hippies

        1970s ...

        1980s - Dungeons and Dragons - Video games - Heavy metal - Backward masking in music

        1990s -...

        2000s - ...

        Same old, same old selling clickbait news articles and giving politicans a 'purity crisis' issue to run on

        1970s had the start of satanic panic, with made up stories of sex cults penetrating so far as to make some psychiatrists actually promote the concept for the reason for most mental illness in the US.

        But I think we've passed out of blaming video games. Too many people that grew up with them out there now. I keep waiting for somebody to be gutsy enough to say if these people would just stop reading the Bible they wouldn't have such violent thoughts. I mean, have you read that book? Stephen King got nothing on

      • Expect them to blame the video game instead of mental instability yet again.

        Tired of this demonization of anything not promoting dating, getting married, having children, consuming more and more houses, cars, vacations, expensive jewelry...

        1950s - Youth crime 'crisis' - Comic book scare - Seduction of the innocent - Congressional hearings on comic books - Rock and roll degenerates

        1960s - Youth culture - Hippies

        1970s ...

        1980s - Dungeons and Dragons - Video games - Heavy metal - Backward masking in music

        1990s -...

        2000s - ...

        Same old, same old selling clickbait news articles and giving politicans a 'purity crisis' issue to run on

        1970s it was Punk Rock and drugs

        1990s it was the Satanic Panic aka Ritual Abuse (over lapping with D&D being Satanic) begun in the 80s and continuing to late 90s. As usual nothing ever proven just hysteria.

        2010s It was all the Obama is going to take your guns, make himself President for life etc.

        2020s It is the Satanic Panic again with it being Democrat politicians being the Satanists ritually killing babies for adrenochrome. The accusations against Democrats are straight out of the old Anti Semitic

      • Re: Expect Dungeon and Dragons evil again.... (Score:4, Insightful)

        by PPH ( 736903 ) on Wednesday June 26, 2024 @11:11AM (#64579651)

        Expect them to blame the video game instead of mental instability yet again.

        It's the hammer. We need some stronger hammer control laws and a national registration scheme. And those fully semiautomatic pneumatic nailers need to be bannd outright.

      • backward masking in music was a thing in the 60's... Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, if I recall correctly, was said to have the phrase encoded via backward masking, "Paul is dead." or some such...

    • Re:Game Over (Score:5, Funny)

      by Rosco P. Coltrane ( 209368 ) on Wednesday June 26, 2024 @03:16AM (#64578869)

      Get yourself a felony and ruin your life. Good job, dumbass!

      It's not that bad. You may not be able to find employment at McD but you can still run for president...

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by vbdasc ( 146051 )

      Game Over!!

      Nah, just load your saved game and try again.

      He saved his game, didn't he? Wait, what? What's this about that one cannot save and reload games in life? What a crappy game, this life!

      • Real World Offline really sucks. It's the one game everyone is forced to play, and 99.999% of the players are stuck watching the MC.

    • He clearly IS a dumbass. I doubt he'd have been on the shortlist for Nasas rocket scientist training program.

    • No worries. Due to the nature of the act, he's going to be charged as a child.

    • Most crimes are tragically stupid. Heck, these guys' "relationship" was much more real and longstanding than in a road rage incident.
    • Achievement Unlocked: 10-20 Years.
      FYI: The punishment only gets worse from there.
      1 Gamer Score. [trueachievements.com]

  • Ah yes (Score:5, Funny)

    by Dan Posluns ( 794424 ) on Tuesday June 25, 2024 @11:42PM (#64578655) Homepage

    The rare reverse-Florida-man.

  • Jersey man V Florida Man, FIGHT! (Score:4, Funny)

    by locater16 ( 2326718 ) on Tuesday June 25, 2024 @11:55PM (#64578665)
    Neither wins

  • And invariably all the nuts pachinko themselves down to Florida.

  • Then you can just walk across the room and smack them. I miss the good ol' days. The internet ruined everything.

  • Aww, I remember when I worked at Trion and they were so ecstatic to get this game into the library. Too bad it declined.
  • It's probably the most exercise and sunlight this loser has gotten...

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by vbdasc ( 146051 )

      You probably got that exactly right. Weird that you got downvoted. Had I mod points, I would upvote your comment.

  • Second degree? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by backslashdot ( 95548 ) on Wednesday June 26, 2024 @02:00AM (#64578793)

    How is that attempted second degree murder? It was pre-mediated and planned. Shouldn’t it be first degree?

    • Re:Second degree? (Score:4, Interesting)

      by thegarbz ( 1787294 ) on Wednesday June 26, 2024 @03:12AM (#64578859)

      There's more to it than premeditation. Intent to cause serious bodily harm without actually killing someone is a second degree murder. Also the kind of escalation events from a fucked up mind-set can often be classed as second degree murder. I.e. yeah he *may* have gone there to kill the guy but it that in itself doesn't necessarily make a murder pre-meditated. - You typically see this in cases where victims intend to kill each other but don't actually know each other.

      There's a lot of wiggle room between 1st and 2nd degree.

      Unintentional killing is only the most obvious case.

      • I'm not getting it. What elements of attempted first degree murder are missing? He bought a plane ticket. He made up a lie to his mother. He flew on a plane. He bought a hammer. He took an Uber. He was in Florida for 2 days. He was of sound mind, in full control of his mental faculties and came up with a plan. He had multiple changes of scenery and location .. he even had 3 nights of sleep .. yet was steadfast in his plan.

        • Prosecutorial discretion (Score:5, Informative)

          by Pollux ( 102520 ) <speter&tedata,net,eg> on Wednesday June 26, 2024 @06:13AM (#64579061) Journal

          None of us on this Slashdot forum are privy to the details of this case. All we know is what is written up in news articles. Meanwhile, the prosecutor does have access to all the details, and it's his job to get a conviction. Those details may leave some doubt as to whether or not it was premeditated. If he brings a 1st degree charge, he has to have the evidence to back it up, or he might lose to a hung jury. On the other hand, he's got a textbook case of 2nd degree murder, which, as defined by Florida Law [state.fl.us], is "The unlawful [attempted] killing of a human being, when perpetrated by any act imminently dangerous to another and evincing a depraved mind regardless of human life". So, when faced with a chance to lose a 1st degree case vs earn an open-and-shut win on a 2nd degree case, combined (likely) with some possible sympathy / empathy for not wanting to lock away some stupid 20-year-old for the rest of his life because he got pissed playing a game and did something stupid about it, is why I suspect he chose the 2nd-degree route.

          • A prosecutor's real job is to get to the truth which is a critical line away from getting a conviction. If, during the course of investigation and legal proceedings, it comes out that the defendant in any case is not guilty or is potentially guilty of a different crime then that must guide the prosecution's actions.

            They are not supposed to blindly seek convictions but uphold and apply the law appropriately.

            • Fair enough. But the post to which you are replying is still correct. If it's clear that somebody is guilty of at least second degree murder but not first degree murder, having the guilty person go free because you charge them with first-degree murder isn't getting at the truth. Getting a guilty verdict for second-degree murder is truthful. That's especially true because the most likely outcome is a plea bargain and given the (apparent) strength of the evidence, the prosecutor doesn't need to try to for

            • They are not supposed to blindly seek convictions but uphold and apply the law appropriately.

              Sure, but their KPI is how many people they lock up

              • Unfortunately, that is true in many/most jurisdictions but that's not what our system is supposed to be.

                My point in posting was to note that having a conviction rate KPI is wrong.

                Yes, I'm being an idealist but someone has to be.

          • Yeah and I bet the hardware store sold more dangerous things like a hatchet, or some fairly long blades. I don't think a premeditated murderer would go to the hardware store and choose a hammer as his preferred murder weapon, not that this guy sounds particularly sane.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by znrt ( 2424692 )

            None of us on this Slashdot forum are privy to the details of this case.

            exactly right, there is surely a lot more to this story than the headline. which ofc won't prevent slashdotters to throw themselves all out over the clickbait with all kinds of preconceptions and nonsense. a few brilliant jokes inbetween are the bonus for reading all this tripe.

        • You just showed a process conducted. You didn't show the intent to kill. There are other possible intents, intent to scare, intent to maim, intent to steal (leading to potential felony murder). Just because I want to meet you in a parking lot doesn't mean I intend pre-mediated to ensure you're buried in it.

          That's the key. Also we only have limited information here, I presume that the people who are prosecuting have more to go on than a Slashdot summary. So what are you (and I) missing? A LOT.

        • I'm not getting it. What elements of attempted first degree murder are missing? He bought a plane ticket. He made up a lie to his mother. He flew on a plane. He bought a hammer. He took an Uber. He was in Florida for 2 days. He was of sound mind, in full control of his mental faculties and came up with a plan. He had multiple changes of scenery and location .. he even had 3 nights of sleep .. yet was steadfast in his plan.

          Not all states have the same laws regarding 2nd degree vs 1st degree murder.

          Louisian

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by e3m4n ( 947977 )
      They may not have a statute for attempted murder in the first degree. In my state there is only murder, attempted murder, and various homicide/assault statutes. We dont have varying degrees of murder. You either get charged with murder, or homicide depending on the circumstances.

    • I am an attorney, but this is not legal advice. Pay my retainer if you want advice! Besides, I'm probably not licensed in your jurisdiction.

      The Common Law shared by the US states, Britain, and pretty much all jurisdictions defines murder and two forms (voluntary and involuntary) of manslaughter.

      It does *not* distinguish "degrees" of murder. Rather, those are made by state legislatures, and vary from state to state.

      For example, I think it's New York where only killing a police officer constitutes first de

  • Florida Man standing behind Marge: "What?"
    Marge: "Sorry, force of habit."

  • The New York Times article about this is better. Still, the only reason the attacker offered was "He is a bad person online."

  • Ban assault hammers NOW! (Score:3)

    by dogcar3604 ( 1482103 ) on Wednesday June 26, 2024 @06:02AM (#64579055)
    Fully semi-automatic assault hammer capable of driving 1000 nails a second! Ban assault hammers NOW!

  • This is why women would rather be alone in the woods with a bear than a man.

    At least this case isn't as bad as the guy who flew to Europe to kidnap and murder his estranged wife [cnn.com].

  • Non life-theatening head wounds? (Score:3)

    by chas.williams ( 6256556 ) on Wednesday June 26, 2024 @07:03AM (#64579127)
    I mean, sure, he's alive; he's just in a vegetative state now.

    • Funny thing is he bought a hammer in a state that makes buying a gun pretty easy.

      And didn't know the guy lived with other people greatly increasing his odds of failure.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by mjwx ( 966435 )

        Funny thing is he bought a hammer in a state that makes buying a gun pretty easy.

        And didn't know the guy lived with other people greatly increasing his odds of failure.

        Erm, he flew to another state to attack someone over a slight in an online video game... Something tells me he's not the brightest button on the shirt (and that is a good thing).

  • "Jersey Man Comes to Florida To Be Florida Man"

  • So are blue politicians going to be up in arms about banning hammers now? We all know that it was the fault of the hammer and not the mentally unstable person wielding it. If it has a black rugged grip on the hammer will that be considered an assault hammer? What about sledge hammers? Nobody needs a 10 pound sledge hammer! We need legislation put in place so no American can own a sledge hammer over 2.5 pounds.... Oh yeah, it's to save the children.

    • One nut with a hammer is NOT EQUAL TO 21 dead in Uvalde or 26 dead in Sandy Hook or ... (wait until the next one before the end of the year).

      You are a member of a death cult. You want innocent people to die. Your attempt at sarcasm is an expression of your psychopathic tendencies. Your are a de facto fanboy of mass murders.

  • I read about people tracking each other down and assaulting each other in South Korea over buying/selling rare virtual game items (helmets, swords) 10 years ago. Pretty sure people died. Also read about gamers dying in front of screens in their own excrement. But surely this isn't addictive. /s
    The US is just catching up.
  • If companies didn't post people's addresses online, this might not have happened. Public address records help make people unsafe. Better privacy laws please.

  • I'm guessing that the victim of the hammer attack was probably an ass in the game and pushed the other guy too far. Yes I'm victim blaming. Anyone that's played at least one online game knows how toxic the environment is.

    As for the attacker, he's a moron for letting some anonymous idiot get under his skin enough to even contemplate something like this.

    It's just a damn game!

  • Yes, apparently it's a thing in Florida statutes: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Sta... [state.fl.us]

    ...shall be reclassified to the next higher degree as provided in this section if, while committing the offense, the offender was wearing a hood, mask, or other device that concealed his or her identity.

  • See? (Score:2)

    by PPH ( 736903 )

    second-degree murder and armed burglary with a mask

    Wearing masks doesn't save lives.

  • If he doesn't call it a hammer, but instead refers to it in the third person with a name from Asgard: Mjolnir

  • We live in a different world than the '90s. Not only is this one of those massive online games (which I *think* only existed in text form in the 90s, like Gemstone), but apparently it's popular enough to evoke this level of emotion from a player, and despite that it's one that was never even on my radar. And I consider myself a fan of video games.

    It used to be that there were a handful of popular games released each year and most fans knew what they were. Niche games had niche audiences. Now even the niches

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by vux984 ( 928602 )

      The whole thing is even more coo-coo-bananas when you realize that the game was shutting down shortly... literally tomorrow.

      "As a publisher of games, it is our mission to provide our players with great and enjoyable gaming experiences, so it is with heavy hearts that we announce the official closure of our ArcheAge servers, effective June 27, 2024. "

      Whatever dispute they had, the whole thing was about to be completely moot anyway.

  • Bang bang Maxwell's silver hammer...

    The judge better be careful!

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