Christian Kwee was an average 17-year-old from the suburbs. He wasn't brilliant at high school, but he was hoping to get into college. The Grade 12 student, however, had a talent for playing video games, and loved to hang out with friends perfecting his skills.
When Mr. Kwee died last Saturday, it was in an Internet café. Police believe the violence on the video screen may have tragically spilled into the room. Witnesses say he was shot to death because he was too good -- murdered by someone he had just beaten at the popular game Counter-Strike.
"The hardest part to comprehend," RCMP Corporal Pierre LeMaitre said, "is that the victim was just a young man out with friends, enjoying himself early in the evening -- at 7:30 p.m. -- and he was a victim of this kind of violence."
Mr. Kwee's death has drawn attention to the darker side of Internet cafés and violent computer games. "It seems that something from the imagination has been taken to the next level and made into reality," Cpl. LeMaitre said. The young men who were defeated by Mr. Kwee may have been so wound up that they crossed the threshold between imagination and reality, he said.
News source: The globe and mail
When Mr. Kwee died last Saturday, it was in an Internet café. Police believe the violence on the video screen may have tragically spilled into the room. Witnesses say he was shot to death because he was too good -- murdered by someone he had just beaten at the popular game Counter-Strike.
"The hardest part to comprehend," RCMP Corporal Pierre LeMaitre said, "is that the victim was just a young man out with friends, enjoying himself early in the evening -- at 7:30 p.m. -- and he was a victim of this kind of violence."
Mr. Kwee's death has drawn attention to the darker side of Internet cafés and violent computer games. "It seems that something from the imagination has been taken to the next level and made into reality," Cpl. LeMaitre said. The young men who were defeated by Mr. Kwee may have been so wound up that they crossed the threshold between imagination and reality, he said.
News source: The globe and mail
Witnesses have told police and Mr. Kwee's family that the incident began when Mr. Kwee, who kept winning, started gloating about his success.
In response, a message appeared on Mr. Kwee's screen: F.U.
He replied: F.U.2.
As the exchange of words escalated, three young men from another computer screen rushed over and grabbed him by the collar. They were about to punch him when others intervened, said Albert Wahyono, a friend of the Kwee family.
Mr. Kwee and his teammate were relieved when the men turned and ran out the door. But the losing teammates came back moments later, pushed Mr. Kwee into a corner and started to beat him up. A shot was fired and they fled.
Police seized the computers used by Mr. Kwee and by those suspected of playing against him.
ProGamer's manager, Harry Law, rejected the suggestion that the game Counter-Strike encourages violence.
Last edited by 13738 on 26 Jan 2003 - 15:05
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