NJ man flew to Florida to kill online gaming rival with hammer: sheriff

NEWARK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) -- A New Jersey man flew to Florida to kill a fellow ArcheAge gamer with a hammer over an "online altercation," authorities said Monday.

Edward Kang, 20, faces charges of attempted second-degree murder and armed burglary after he was arrested for the attack in Nassau County, Florida, early Sunday morning.

"This is a weird one," Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper said at a news conference Monday. "Some things you just can't make up."

According to the sheriff, Kang took a Delta Airlines flight from Newark Liberty International Airport to Jacksonville International Airport on Thursday night, "apparently to confront the victim in person." Kang allegedly told his family he was traveling to meet a friend he'd met online years before.

Upon arrival in Florida, he took an Uber to the Ocean Coast Hotel in Fernandina Beach and went to an Ace Hardware to purchase the hammer used in the attack, the sheriff said.

Kang and the victim had never met in person but were acquainted through ArcheAge, a fantasy-based, multiplayer online role-playing game similar to World of Warcraft, according to the sheriff.

The attack unfolded around 2 a.m. Sunday at a home in Fernandina Beach. Kang allegedly accessed the residence through an unlocked door.

The victim, who is around the same age as Kang, was playing a videogame and went to go to the bathroom. When he opened his bedroom door, he saw "the suspect with a hammer raised in the air in an anticipated strike position," the sheriff said.

Kang—who was wearing all black, gloves and a mask—attacked the victim with the hammer, causing severe head wounds and leaving "a significant amount of blood in the home," according to the sheriff.

The victim's stepfather was awakened by his screams and "found his stepson on the ground struggling with the attacker," the sheriff said.

The victim and his stepfather were able to wrestle Kang to the ground and detain him before sheriff's deputies arrived.

Both Kang and the victim were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The victim was later released.

Kang was booked at the Nassau County Jail and was not cooperating with investigators, the sheriff said. However, according to the sheriff, he did tell a deputy he attacked the victim because the victim is "a bad person online."

He also allegedly asked a deputy how long he could be jailed for the crime.

"I would say Mr. Kang, it's going to be a long time before you play videogames again," the sheriff said.