NJ video game nut flies to Florida overnight to attack online rival with hammer: cops
Game over.
A New Jersey man got so ticked off while duking it out in an online video game that he flew to Florida in the middle of the night to bash his rival with a hammer, authorities said.
Edward Kang, 20, allegedly hopped on an overnight flight at Newark Liberty International Airport, landed at Jacksonville International Airport and booked a hotel room — before he showed up at the victim’s house at 2 a.m. Sunday swinging a hammer, officials said.
“This is a weird one,” Nassau County, Florida, Sheriff Bill Leeper said at a briefing Monday.
“Some things make you say hmm. Some things you just can’t make up,” Leeper told reporters. “There are some things that make you say, ‘What in the world was he thinking?’ And there are some things that make you say, ‘You’re not gonna believe this.’
“Well, this case makes you say all four of those,” Leeper said.
The sheriff said Kang got angry at the victim while playing the multiplayer game ArcheAge — and was ticked off enough that he told his mom he was going to visit a friend in the Sunshine State and took off.
He checked into a hotel in Florida at 2 a.m. Friday, and the next day stopped at an Ace Hardware outlet to pick up a hammer and a flashlight, Leeper said.
Early Sunday morning, he snuck into the victim’s house in Fernandina Beach dressed in black and wearing a mask and gloves and attacked his rival with a hammer, he said.
“The victim’s stepfather reported being awakened by screams for help,” he said. “When he went to see what was going on he found his stepson on the ground struggling with the attacker, who was in possession of a hammer.”
Leeper said the two restrained Kang until police arrived.
He said the victim suffered severe but non-life-threatening head wounds, while Kang is being held at the Nassau County Jail on attempted murder and burglary charges.
The sheriff said Kang is not cooperating with police.
“When the suspect was asked why he did what he did, the suspect stated that he is a bad person online, talking about the victim,” Leeper said. “In addition, the suspect asked our deputy how much time in jail do you get for breaking and entering and assault.
“I would say, Mr. Kang, it’s gonna be a long time before you play video games again.”
