According to police, gamer from New Jersey flew to Florida to attack rivals with hammer

A New Jersey man who police said flew to Florida and attacked another gamer with a hammer following an online dispute was charged with attempted first-degree murder on Sunday.

The man, Edward Kang, 20, of New Jersey, was taken into custody early Sunday morning after arriving at the teammate’s home around 2 a.m. that same day and attacking the victim with a hammer, Nassau County, Florida, Sheriff Bill Leeper said at a news conference Monday.

Sheriff Leeper said Mr. Kang had never met the player he attacked in person, but they knew each other from ArcheAge, a fantasy online game in which players live their own adventures of exploration and conquest in a mythical world. A police report identified the target of Mr. Kang’s attack as Zachary Dinh, who declined to comment on Tuesday.

It was unclear what interactions Mr. Kang and Mr. Dinh had online. Sheriff Leeper said the incident “arose from an online altercation.”

Sheriff Leeper said that in ArcheAge, characters can be created that fight and kill each other.

“I don’t know what happened between the victim and the suspect, but something caused the suspect to come to Florida and hurt the other person,” he said.

ArcheAge will be shut down for users in Europe and North America on Friday, according to the game’s website. The game’s creators cited declining player numbers in an April statement.

Mr. Dinh was treated at a hospital for serious head injuries and has since been released from the hospital, Sheriff Leeper said.

In addition to the attempted murder charge, Mr. Kang was also charged with armed burglary. Mr. Kang, who was also injured in the attack, received medical treatment and was taken to the Nassau County Jail in Yulee, Florida, where he was held without bail.

No lawyer was listed for Mr. Kang in arrest records, and a call to his family went unanswered Tuesday afternoon.

The online dispute, which escalated into a case of attempted murder, has attracted attention from local law enforcement, the sheriff said.

“It’s a strange thing,” Sheriff Leeper said during the press conference. “Some things you say, ‘Hmm.’ Some things you just can’t make up. Some things you say, ‘What in the world was he thinking?’ And some things you say, ‘You’re not going to believe this.’ In this case, you say all four things.”

Sheriff Leeper said Mr. Kang flew from Newark Liberty International Airport to Jacksonville International Airport on Friday and checked into a hotel in Fernandina Beach, Florida. Mr. Kang told his family he was going to visit an old friend in Florida, Sheriff Leeper said.

At some point over the weekend, Mr. Kang went to an area hardware store and purchased a hammer and a flashlight, Sheriff Leeper said. Receipts for the items were later found in his hotel room.

Mr. Kang was dressed all in black, wearing gloves and a mask when he arrived at Mr. Dinh’s Fernandina Beach home early Sunday morning, Sheriff Leeper said. Mr. Kang was able to enter the house because a door was unlocked, he said.

Once inside, Mr. Kang found Mr. Dinh and began attacking him with the hammer, Sheriff Leeper said.

According to the arrest report, Mr. Dinh’s stepfather was awakened in the middle of the night by his cries for help.

“When he went to see what was going on, he found his stepson lying on the ground struggling with the attacker,” Sheriff Leeper said.

Mr. Dinh and his stepfather managed to overpower Mr. Kang and detain him until police arrived, Sheriff Leeper said.

After his arrest, Mr. Kang was allowed to call his mother, the arrest report said. During the phone call, which was recorded and later translated from Korean to English, Mr. Kang admitted to the attack and told his mother that he had not intended to kill Mr. Dinh, the arrest report said.

While in custody, Mr. Kang was asked by a police officer why he attacked Mr. Dinh, the arrest report said.

Mr. Kang told police: “He is a bad person on the Internet.”

Kirsten Noyes made a research contribution.