UK man strangles boy over Call of Duty: Black Ops feud

Mark Bradford arrested for assaulting 13-year-old online bully, sullying illustrious Bradford name

Words: Matt Bradford on September 30, 2011

A 46-year-old UK man is facing jail time after tracking down and attacking a 13-year-old boy in revenge for taunting the unemployed father of three during a session of Call of Duty: Black Ops on PS3. According to UK's The Daily Mirror, Mark Bradford (no relation) snapped after a particularly frustrating day of online gaming, and proceeded to hunt down and strangle the young player who had been tormenting him from a local friend's house.

“I’d been playing the whole day and he was baiting me and just would not shut up,” explained Bradford. “I just lost it. In a moment of madness I went round to the house. I didn’t know what I was going to do.”

Bradford left quickly after the attack, but was later picked up by police following a call from the boy's mom, who told press: “It’s pathetic that a grown man would attack a defenceless child like this. If you can’t handle losing to a child then you shouldn’t be playing games. I know Mark and went straight round when I found out what had happened. I was fuming. But rather than have it out with him I got the police involved.”

The unidentified boy admits to pushing Bradford's buttons in Call of Duty, but said he was completely taken by surprise when the grown man decided to exact his revenge in person, recalling, “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.”

Bradford has since apologized for the attack, which thankfully left little more than a scratch. He has also admitted assault to the courts, and is currently awaiting sentencing.

Sep 30, 2011

Platforms:

PC, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, DS

38 comments

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i3atRice - October 2, 2011 4:15 p.m.

Where is the mother? I mean, if i started talking crap to somebody else on Xbox my dad would storm down and beat me with a bamboo stick. Also, it's an 17+ game, granted im not 17 either, but i have the common sense to not be a f4g to a grown man that could be living in the same neighborhood as me
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GeoShock - October 2, 2011 12:02 p.m.

This man deserves a Medal of Honor. Well he responded to the Call of Duty -- a duty to teach manners to idiotic kids who shouldn't even be playing in an 18-and-up Battlefield. Sorry, just couldn't resist.
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soranamineforever - October 1, 2011 4:56 p.m.

On the contrary, this man has proved the awesomeness of the Bradford name. Be proud of your fellow Bradford, Matt. Despite the fact he seems like a maniac.
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avantguardian - October 1, 2011 10:01 a.m.

frankly, this has been a long time coming, and i'm somewhat surprised someone hasn't been murdered, or at least severely injured due to fanboyism or internet dickishness. it really is that irrational.
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Dmancapri - October 1, 2011 9:29 a.m.

Matt, there definitely is a relation
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jennyleezy - September 30, 2011 9:20 p.m.

how did he even know the boy's address? D:
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james-loughlin - September 30, 2011 8:37 p.m.

Should the mother be fined for supplying an game which he is not legally allowed to play
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jennyleezy - September 30, 2011 9:19 p.m.

HAHA win
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ArbokDaKobra - October 3, 2011 8:41 p.m.

Actually it is not illegal for a person under 17 to purchase or play M rated games, the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB), is an independent organization that works with the publishers and retailers to set up restrictions on games and who they are sold too, so as to protect children from games designed for adults. The government has no say over the legality of games, just like it has no say over the legality of R rated movies.
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ThatFanInThePeacoat - September 30, 2011 6:04 p.m.

"Why you little-!" "Ack! Augh! Ack!"
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reach110 - September 30, 2011 4:45 p.m.

A hero. A god among men. I wouldn't be saying this if he had killed the kid, but I've wished to hunt down little sh*ts and do EXACTLY what this man did HUNDREDS of times. I hope more than anything that this inspires somebody to come up with some kid of filtering system that will make online gaming fun for adults again.
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Colenuck - September 30, 2011 4:08 p.m.

I've found the best way to get rid of Punk kids is to act gay to them, just hit on them and don't let up and they call you a Fag and drop out, and if they try to be gay back you call them a fag and the rest of the people laugh at them, homophobes are easy and most of those little losers are homophobes! Problem solved!
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therawski - September 30, 2011 3:43 p.m.

This is why 13 year old children shouldn't play games for 17+ year old children.
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mockraven - September 30, 2011 2:54 p.m.

I kind of wish there were more details behind this article. It just makes the guy sound like he was nuts but as previous commenters suggested, the kid was probably being a real jerk. What's more, this kid was at his friend's house so either the parents let their kid get away with saying some very disrespectful things (possible understatement) to adults or else said parents really don't know what their kids are doing even in their own home.
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DaveGoose - September 30, 2011 2:48 p.m.

hahahaha I hope he choked him good!!!
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FOZ - September 30, 2011 2:25 p.m.

I think he should go to jail, seeing as he has 3 kids, but then that would bring up another issue. Something needs to be figured out other than just tossing the guy in jail. But I don't feel any sympathy for some 13-year old brat talking shyte over Call of Duty.
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FOZ - September 30, 2011 2:26 p.m.

I DON'T think, that is. Why can't we get an edit function?
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jennyleezy - September 30, 2011 9:19 p.m.

exactly. *hint hint*
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Kermit1970 - September 30, 2011 2:17 p.m.

Snot nosed brat shouldn't be playing Black Ops anyway recaptcha: ymenterr Jiezi WTF!
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d34thly - September 30, 2011 1:59 p.m.

Give this man a medal! Seriously, what are you waiting for? Knight him or something.
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