NJ man flies to Florida to bludgeon gaming rival with hammer, cops say

🎮 Edward Kang flew to Florida and bought a hammer, police said

🎮 When the victim took a break from playing, Kang was waiting in the bathroom, according to law enforcement

🎮 Officials said Kang said his victim was a "bad person online"

A 20-year-old New Jersey gamer flew to Florida and attacked a man with a hammer to settle an online dispute, according to law enforcement.

During a press briefing on Monday, Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper said Edward Kang of Montvale flew from Newark to Jacksonville and broke into his victim’s home in Fernandina Beach near Jacksonville around 2 a.m. through an unlocked door.

When the victim took a break from playing video games to use the bathroom, Kang hit his victim in the head several times, according to Leeper.

Leeper said the victim's stepfather was woken up by screaming and restrained Kang until deputies arrived. Leeper said there was a significant amount of blood in the entryway of the home.

The victim has severe head injuries but he has been released from the hospital, according to Leeper.

Leeper said that Kang and the victim had never met in person and only knew each other while playing the fantasy multiplayer online role-playing game ArcheAge. Players become immersed in a virtual world similar to World of Warcraft, according to the sheriff.

Kang told his parents he was going to Florida to visit a longtime friend he met online while playing a video game, according to Leeper. When he arrived in Florida he went to an Ace Hardware store and bought the hammer and a flashlight, Leeper said.

When asked by investigations why he did it, Leeper only said the victim is a “bad person online.”

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Game over

Leeper said Kang is not cooperating with law enforcement and is seeking legal representation. He has been charged with armed second-degree attempted murder and armed burglary, He is being held at the county jail.

“This incident serves as a stark reminder of the potential real-world consequences of online interactions,” Leeper said. “We urge the public to exercise caution, report any suspicious online behavior to the authorities, and always ensure their homes are securely locked.”

The game that Kang and the victim played is being discontinued Thursday by the Kakao Games because its servers can no longer provide the type of playing experience it had hoped, according to a statement by the company. The number of active players has declined and the game's active content is no longer accessible the way it used to be.

"The declining number of active players means the game’s content is no longer accessible in the way it used to be, and the experience of it is different from what was originally intended. In light of this, we’ve made the difficult decision to terminate the live service of ArcheAge in Europe and North America," the statement read.

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