We never imagined that one of Blizzard’s classic IPs, Diablo, would spark a controversy that would result in someone shooting someone else…

The Columbian reported that on Friday (December 17), Joshua G. Spellman of Amboy, Washington, aged 36, appeared in Clark County Superior Court on a second-degree murder charge in the alleged shooting death of 34-year-old Andrew Dickenson (the two have been friends for 26 years…). The reason: a Diablo II altercation. Spellman told investigators that the pair and a third man were playing Blizzard’s game in the exact location, communicating via headsets. Dickson became upset when another player took something from the loot that the team needed.

The game was not password-protected, which caused Dickson to start yelling, cursing, and calling Spellman names. According to Spellman, it went on for 3-5 minutes, and he told Dickson to calm down, or he would shoot him. He then took out his gun, which he kept next to his computer, and went to the main house (since Dickson and Spellman both lived in smaller homes on the same property). Dickson asked Spellman why he was keeping his firearm there, to which Spellman replied, “why not? It’s America” (to which we say that’s a very American reaction indeed…).

Spellman walked between the houses, fired his gun in the air, and then entered the main building. Here he had a word with his father, and then Dickson came through the door. He then brought up Spellman’s earlier threat, approached Spellman, and shot Dickson in the torso, taken to hospital. Despite surgery, he died of his injuries. Senior deputy prosecutor Luka Vitasovic requested Spellman’s arrest and would only be released on two million dollars bail. He argued, “a seemingly minor incident resulted in someone being shot and killed”. Judge Snider reduced this to $750,000, and an arraignment will take place on the 29th.

Source: PCGamer