Online gamer murders rival clan member

Net violence spills into real world

By Lester Haines • Get more from this author

Posted in Crime, 17th January 2008 14:12 GMT

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A 33-year-old Russian gamer from the city of Ufa was killed by a member of a rival online clan after virtual violence provoked a fatal real-life scrap, Russia Today reports.

The victim, named only as Albert, was a member of the "Platanium" clan in the unreported game (possibly Lineage II). His group was mostly made up of experienced gamers over 30, and at the end of December had a bit of an online rumble with the tastefully-entitled Coo-clocks clan - mainly students in their twenties - in which one of the latter was apparently killed.

This led to an arranged meet in the real world, during which "Albert was badly beaten and died from his injuries on the way to hospital".

The 22-year-old alleged assailant has apparently shown no remorse, and refused to justify his actions. His fellow Coo-clocks, meanwhile, "continue to harass the family of the murdered man, threatening to kill his sister, who hasn't turned on the computer for days".

She said: "I think they have confused the game and reality. And after we buried him [Albert] on 31 December, they continued to threaten us." ®

Bootnote

The Russia Today article is a bit light on names and further details, so what's above is what we've got. Any Russian readers who have additional info are welcome to post it in comments.

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