Take a chill pill: Smack talk is inevitable when it comes to online, multiplayer games but in most cases, it doesn’t escalate beyond name calling. Occasionally, however, disputes spill over into the real world. This is one of those instances.
According to Nassau County court records, 20-year-old Edward Kang recently flew from New Jersey to Florida to attack an online foe with a real-world hammer. It is unclear how Kang obtained the address of his victim, another young man around the same age. The two were players of ArcheAge, an MMORPG that isn’t long for this world.
Police say Kang told his mother he was going to visit a friend he had met online while gaming.
Officials say Kang flew to Jacksonville, Florida, last Thursday and Ubered to a hotel in the victim’s hometown about 35 miles north. At some point, he popped into a hardware store and purchased a hammer and a flashlight.
Around 2 a.m. on Sunday morning, police say, Kang entered the victim’s home and attacked him with the hammer. A struggle ensued, and the victim’s stepfather jumped in to help restrain Kang until police arrived on the scene.
The victim, identified as Zachary Dinh in an arrest report, was taken to a local hospital where he received staples for multiple non life-threatening head wounds. Kang, who described the victim as a “bad person online,” reportedly asked police how much jail time he could expect for breaking and entering and assault. He has been charged with attempted second-degree murder and armed burglary with a mask. The nature of the online altercation that led to the attack was not disclosed.
“I would say Mr. Kang, it’s going to be a long time before you play video games again,” said Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper.
In late April, the ArcheAge team announced it would be closing its servers in Europe and North America effective June 27, 2024, due to a decline in active players. Giving the timing of the shutdown and the attack, it literally would have been water under the bridge had Kang remained calm for just one more week.
Image credit: Yousef Samuil
