Saturday, May 29, 2010

Video gamer hunts down, stabs man who killed his online 'Counter-Strike' character

By Michael Sheridan
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Thursday, May 27th 2010, 11:55 AM

Watch out who you kill in the virtual world, it may inspire someone to attack you in the real one.

That's what happened to one Frenchman, who was stabbed and nearly killed by a fellow "Counter-Strike" player, according to London's Telegraph.

Julien Barreaux reportedly spent six months looking for the person who killed his online character in a virtual knife fight, and eventually found the foe living only a few miles away in Cambrai, a town about 2 hours north of Paris.

The 20-year-old, armed with a real-life kitchen knife, went to the man's house and brutally stabbed him in the chest. The victim, identified only as Mikhael, survived the assault after the blade missed his heart by less than an inch.

"Barreaux was arrested within the hour and told us he had wanted to see his rival wiped out for killing off his character," a police officer testified at the trial, the Telegraph reported.

The overzealous video gamer will spend two years behind bars, and receive anger management therapy.

"You are a menace to society," Judge Alexiane Potel said. "I am frankly terrified of the disproportionate reaction you could have if someone looked at you the wrong way in the street."

New York Daily News

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