Gamertell

An article in the Portland Oregonian reports on the video game habits of Erik Ayala, the suspect in the Saturday (January 24. 2009) shooting that killed two teens and wounded seven others. According to the article, police say Ayala begin a shooting rampage outside an underage club in downtown Portland before turning the gun on himself. He died later from his wounds.

The Oregonian (and numerous other mainstream media outlets) have reported Ayala enjoyed shooting games including Left 4 Dead and Resistance: Fall of Man. In an eerie suicide note, Ayala left his personal possessions including his beloved PlayStation 3 to his roommate.

It will be difficult for police or anyone else to reconcile the kind tone of the suicide note with the actions Ayala is believed to have committed:

“You know my ps3 is special. Similiar USED ps3’s go for AT LEAST $450-$500,” Ayala begins in a suicide note left for his roommate, published in the Oregonian. “Our landlord guy wants a ps3 like mine. Let him know that $400 would be a GOOD deal. If he doesn’t want it, format the drive by going to Settings>System>Format Utility. You can say it “comes with the latest firmware software” to help market it on the internet. In case you don’t know, it’s the special “100% backwards compatible” (60 GB) ps3. I’m sorry to put all this on you buddy, good luck.”

Ayala left his roommate the PS3, his car and all the money that Ayala had, which he said was probably less than $20. Police told the Oregonian the intent of the note was clear, the 24-year-old had no intention of returning from where he was going.

There just aren’t any easy answers in an incident like this. A young man definitely needed treatment that he didn’t get and took his reasons for his bizarre actions to his grave.

Read [Portland Oregonian] Via [GamePolitics]