Guy Shot Over Gaming Noise, Beating Up Mom
A World of Warcraft gamer apparently lost his cool when Mom told him to keep the noise level down.
27-year-old James Swan was still living with his mother when he tried to choke her to death Sunday night.
Before the incident, he shared a room with his five younger siblings and played World of Warcraft in his little corner of the room. Other than the siblings and his mother, PC gamer James Swan also shared the house with his grandfather.
On the night of the incident, the mother was jolted awake by shouts coming from Swan's room. Concerned, she entered to find him drunk and playing the MMORPG around 10 p.m.
According to True Crime Report, the mother politely asked him to be mindful of her and his five siblings, and to keep the noise level down. When he refused to remain quiet, she politely asked him to be quiet again.
Suddenly enraged by her constant interruptions, Swan allegedly grabbed his mother by the hair and threw her on the bed. One of his little brothers, already jolted awake by Swan's antics, tried to intervene and was also thrown to the bed.
The report claims that the mother ran from the room to call 911. Swan quickly followed, pulled the phone out of the wall, and then smashed his own head through the kitchen wall.
With his head bleeding, Swan allegedly wrestled his mother to the floor and tried to strangle her, threatening to kill her. The grandfather entered the scene and tried to stop the struggle without any success.
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
Swan said he was also going to kill the grandfather.
Intent on being the last man standing, the grandfather retrieved his revolver. Both Swan and the elder man struggled with the gun until it discharged, grazing Swan's head and shooting through the kitchen window. Apparently this did the trick, as Swan was thus taken to the hospital, and then arrested thereafter.
The report did not specify specific charges or sentencing. There was also no indication as to what triggered the sudden outbreak. It may be that a certain group of campers wouldn't leave an area, sending him over the edge.
Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.