During a particularly heated round of Call of Duty online, 46-year old Plymouth, England resident Mark Bradford snapped. After facing repeated taunts, name calling and defeat at the hands of a 13-year old, Bradford decided changing classes in the game or altering his tactics just wasn’t going to be enough. So without a word, Bradford silently rose, made his way to the house where the boy was playing, and proceeded to choke him.
The boy’s 33-year old mother was there, and managed to pull Bradford off, leaving the boy with a few scratches and a red neck, but otherwise unharmed. Bradford then silently left and returned home, where he was soon arrested.
“It’s pathetic that a grown man would attack a defenseless child like this,” she the boy’s mother said.
The attack came after the two had been playing Call of Duty: Black Ops. After killing him in the game, the boy then proceeded to call the 46-year old names which caused the man to “just lose it.” The two were acquainted through the boy’s parents, and Bradford knew that he was playing at a nearby friend’s house.
Bradford, who his lawyers say has suffered from mental health issues, pled guilty to one count of assault by beating.
“I’d been playing the whole day and he was baiting me and baiting me and just would not shut up,” Bradford told the courts, according to the UK newspaper The Daily Mail.
“He went on and on and I just lost it. I hold my hands up, I lost the plot. In a moment of madness I went round to his house. I didn’t know what I was going to do. It wasn’t malice. I just grabbed him. I’ve seen him since and apologized. We’ve played online too. He’s actually a decent kid.”
The boy, who legally cannot be identified, recounted the attack, “I was just sat playing. We’d had a bit of a joke and then he stormed in and grabbed me. I didn’t know what was going on.”
The courts will review Bradford’s mental health history before passing sentencing on October 24.
