A “Good Samaritan” is dead after intervening in a fight over a Nintendo DS.
Four teenagers from Los Angeles County are facing charges of robbery and murder following a November 1 shooting at a shopping center, where they had agreed to meet another teen who was selling a Nintendo DS. Instead of buying the unit, however, the four attempted to rob him. A fight broke out, during which one of the four pulled out a gun.
An man described by police as a “Good Samaritan” who attempted to break up the fight was shot in the torso as he approached the group with a baseball bat, while the target of the intended robbery was shot in the thigh when he tried to get away. Both victims were taken to hospital; the teen selling the DS was treated for non-life-threatening injuries but the 29-year-old man who attempted to break up the fight died.
The suspects in the shooting range from 13 to 16 years old.
We like to poke fun at stupid videogame crime now and then, like when some idiot chokes the bejeezus out of a mouthy punk who kicks his ass in Black Ops. And it’s cathartic sometimes to vent our rage or disdain over truly heinous incidents – because this certainly isn’t the first tangentially game-related killing we’ve ever reported – or even cheer when the downtrodden rise up and say “no more.” But there’s none of that here. A man is dead, four young teenagers are going to jail, and for what? A toy that’s worth maybe a hundred bucks – probably less than the gun used to kill the would-be hero. That’s just tragic.
Source: KTLA, via GamePolitics
