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MMO World of Warcraft touched off a violent brawl that ended in bloodshed, arrest and ignominy for a family in Manatee County, Florida.
It began last week. Twenty-seven year-old gamer James Swan was immersed in World of Warcraft in a bedroom he shares with several children. Apparently, Swan was drinking and was growing increasingly loud. (I imagine he was screaming "50 DKP MINUS!" at the top of his lungs.) Anyway, his moms told him to quiet down, and Swan grabbed her hair and threw her onto a bed. Then, he grabbed his own son and threw him onto the bed.
His mom ran into the kitchen to call the cops, but Swan chased after her, grabbed the telephone and ripped it from the wall. He then slammed his own head into the kitchen wall, jumped on his mom and started strangling her, while threatening to kill her.
Enter Grandpa: Swan's grandfather tried to stop the strangulation, but was unable, so he grabbed a handgun and he and Swan tussled. The gun went off: BLAM. A bullet was found lodged in the porch, and another, apparently, lodged itself somewhere in Swan's head: Medical professionals noted a bullet entry wound, but no exit wound.
Then the cops showed up and took Swan off to the hoosegow, but were kind enough to release the charming mugshot you see above. He'll face charges for strangling his mom and throwing his kid.
Obviously, this is not a story about World of Warcraft. It's a story about a bunch of unhappy people in Manatee County. Warcraft is not to blame, because here's how the same scene might have played out in my house.
LIGHTS UP on Steve Johnson playing Wow and drinking Scotch.
Steve: Damn these shadow priests! Face = melted!
Steve's Wife: Honey, can you please be quieter? You're waking the baby.
Steve: Of course! I'll put on headphones and stop yelling to myself.
Steve's Wife: Oh, thank you! Let me pour you some more scotch.
LIGHTS DOWN
That's a much less exciting scene, I admit, but it doesn't end up with a bullet lodged in anyone's head and felony charges.
Source: Sarasota Herald Tribune
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Comments
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122
BlainN
"Obviously, this is not a story about World of Warcraft."
The headline says otherwise. If you've ever complained about games being misrepresented in the media, take a hypocrisy point.
The article itself is much more evenhanded, but I'm tired of seeing these stories. Does Rolling Stone cover domestic violence set off by loud music? Are games still so feared by the mainstream that we need to cover this sort of thing just to get a non-insane perspective out?
Metonic4289
i think he's lieing.... I think he would put a bullet in some heads if they interrupted his WoW'ing
firefist
L O S E R
Ikarus
Why would anyone be unhappy as long as your in manatee county? The cows of the sea? They're so free and easy going.
Really I don't see the big deal. He COULD have thrown the kid and his baby mama/mom into the wall or his pile of used needles that I assume were there, but instead he threw them onto the bed. If that's not love/tolerance then I don't know what is. Then his mom runs away. Well my cat chases me when I run away, let's arrest my cat. If someone runs, it's just instinct to chase them. Even the laziest of us enjoy a good run, especially if it's towards food.
And in his defense, I doubt the mom said "Please be quieter". She probably said something like "Shut yur dam vidya games up and get me some more vodka", most likely throwing in some racial slurs for color.
He didn't even get the gun! The grandpa is the one with the great idea to involve firearms. He was just probably excited to use the gun for the firs time, instead of shooting at empty cans of old people nutrient shakes.
SpigotBlister
I think this whole situation is evened out by a kid in Canada that survived a moose attack using WoW strategies xD
SkylerZio
NERDRAGE!!
ManWhoWasNotThere
@silent_jedi dude I completely agree, I'm starting to get the feeling they should put his kids down to elminate the gene pool.
silent_jedi
am I the only one wondering who in the world had sex with this guy, who apparently lives with is mom and grandfather, and was okay with reproducing with him? this story is gonna end up on Springer or Maury, just know it. video games made me crazy and hurt my family.
MugennoPan
It's Florida. No news here.
BertSaxby
I just went to Wikipedia and looked up dBag....guess what picture they were using.
Oinkness
Here's how it would have went down in my house:
LIGHTS UP
Me: WoW is gay. *naps*
LIGHTS DOWN
sandboxgamer
And thats why I dont play world of warcraft
sistokid
Just one question...
Alliance or Horde?
altizar
Damn Horde Rouges . . .
ozziekun
Guns don't kill people! Alcohol and 27 year old douches playing WoW kill people!
TangoAlphaLima
We now know who wears the pants in the Johnson household.
De OriginalGamesta
wow... sounds like somebody needs to destroy that pc ...
Gabtraf
Hm... Now that is pretty funny..
Scarfo
Cocaine is a hell of a drug.
Echo5585
ya im pretty sure that had nothing to do with WoW, this guy just sounds like he has serious if you start strangling people and throwing kids if someone asked you to quiet down. probably just coincidence he was playing a game before he raged out. lol though, pretty funny.
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