As the saying goes, play stupid games, win stupid prizes, but some are deciding to take this mantra to a whole new level of dim-wittedness. As someone who has never played Fortnite or dominoes, perhaps I just don’t understand the stakes or raw emotion involved, or maybe heavy drug usage and hearing voices in your head just don’t mix well with firearms. Either way, an unrelated pair of clown shoes in Pennsylvania and Missouri, who I’d have gladly given Darwin awards to, decided their catharsis would come through the taking of other people’s lives instead. 

Our first stop is in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, where a man is facing murder charges for allegedly shooting and killing his friend during an argument while playing Fortnite. Let me save you some time if you’re like me and have to look that up. It’s a video game. 

The incident occurred on Nov. 8 at around 3:27 a.m., inside a home on Westhorpe Lane. Court documents explain that 21-year-old Holden Hoffsis called 911 to say he “accidentally shot his friend in the chest,” but what would follow is a scene and an explanation that simply don’t make sense. 

Hoffsis reportedly stated that he loaded the firearm, which he regularly kept near him for protection, but believed the chamber was empty. The suspect and his friend, Daniel Gray, had been drinking hard cider and using cocaine throughout the evening when, after losing a round of Fortnite, Gray “yelled at him and got in his face,” court documents allege. Authorities say that’s when Hoffsis stood up and fired the gun he previously said he thought was unchambered into his friend’s chest before calling 911. Sure, that sounds like an accident…

Investigators found jars of marijuana and packaging materials in the home, which led authorities to believe Hoffsis intended to distribute as well. 

“This case is another sad example of how the mix of drugs and guns leads to violence and death,” said Christopher de Barrena-Sarobe, Chester County District Attorney.

Hoffsis is charged with murder and related offenses and is being held at the Chester County Prison without bail.

The following evening, in another gaming-related tragedy, another man was murdered inside a Kansas City, Missouri, home while playing dominoes. 

Upon arriving at the home just after 6 p.m. on reports of a shooting, officers found 27-year-old Marcus Oldham unresponsive at a table suffering from gunshot wounds. 

According to witnesses, Malik Johnson, of North Carolina, had driven to Kansas City on the day of the killing. Johnson sat on a window sill near a table where Oldham played dominoes, without argument or hostility between the two men. At one point, Oldham yelled “domino,” indicating he had won, when moments later two gunshots rang out as witnesses saw Johnson holding a revolver pointed at Oldham, causing one witness to run and call the police. 

A second witness indicated to authorities that they had spoken with Johnson earlier and he asked if they thought he was crazy, explaining that his mother and grandmother had described him in that manner. When detectives later contacted an associate of Johnson’s from North Carolina, the woman told them Johnson had grown more paranoid, saying he had been hearing voices in recent months and claiming he was being watched and that people were trying to get him.

Johnson is charged in Jackson County Court with second-degree murder and armed criminal action.

While suspects and victims in these incidents are largely different from one another, both show a common thread, poor decision-making. Sure, one was influenced by alcohol and cocaine, and the other by what seems to be mental illness, but in either case firearms should not have been involved. I want to point out, however, that an enraged or sick individual bent on taking a life is going to do what they are going to do, gun or no gun. The only thing we can do as a society is to educate ourselves, find better ways to identify those suffering from any illness that may cause them to harm themselves or others, and act responsibly and with compassion while keeping a vigilant eye on our safety and those around us…especially, it seems, when playing games.