Authorities say an 18-year-old California man livestreamed the attempted murder of a stranger on his Discord account.
Police in Newark, about 35 miles southeast of San Francisco, responded shortly after 11:30 p.m. on August 19 to a report of a deadly weapon assault in the 5600 block of Thornton Avenue. When officers arrived, they discovered a man with multiple stab wounds in the back. Paramedics transported him to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. He is now listed in stable condition.
Detectives identified the suspect as Luis McLaughlin Jr., and the SWAT team apprehended him on Sunday at a home in the 5000 block of Civic Terrace Avenue, according to a police statement. Prosecutors charged him on Monday with one count of attempted murder.
The investigation revealed that the incident was “motivated by a desire for notoriety,” police said. According to officers, McLaughlin and the victim did not know each other.
According to prosecutors from the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office, McLaughlin attacked the victim while he was cleaning kitchen equipment outside a restaurant.
“The victim of the attack appears to have had no previous relationship with Mr. McLaughlin.” The attack was broadcast live on Mr. McLaughlin’s social media platform, Discord,” prosecutors wrote, according to KRON.
Discord is a popular streaming app among video gamers.
Local Fox affiliate KTVU spoke with the restaurant’s CEO, who stated that the employee was stabbed in the lung and shoulder.
KTVU reports that after his arrest, the suspect wrote an apology letter. According to KTVU, police also recovered the alleged murder weapon.
