A Call of Duty esports player has been murdered. According to reports, Ingrid "Sol" Oliveira Bueno da Silva has been killed by Guilherme Alves "Flashlight" Costa in São Paulo, Brazil. Sol, a female, was only nineteen years old.
Reported originally by Rod Breslau on Twitter--an esports consultant and insider--an investigation found that the killing was premeditated. The details of the murder of the Call of Duty: Mobile player are disturbing.
According to the report, Sol and Costa met online. Costa admitted to planning his crime weeks ahead of time, but he surrendered and confessed 30 minutes after the act; Costa stabbed Sol to death. According to the FBI investigation, Costa claims that he is perfectly sane and that he wanted to do this. Costa not only committed the horrible crime, but he also recorded video and images and shared it with his friends. This story has stretched far beyond the world of gaming. ESPN has an esports department as well, as it has done some extensive reporting on the subject and has been able to confirm the FBI investigation, for example.
Costa had more attacks planned, according to Breslau. Costa had sent an email out titled "A Commendable Act," and in it, he promised more violence and showed footage of the murder of Sol. It should be noted that there have been studies around video game violence, and most find that there is no link between violence in games and in the real world. Horrific and senseless attacks like that from Guilherme Alves Costa are beyond the realm of gaming.
The most important thing to note in any of this is that Sol is the victim here. Her life is gone and at an extremely young age, with much of her life in front of her. While competitive Call of Duty: Mobile seemed to be a part of that journey for Sol, at just 19 years old, she had so many opportunities. What's more, her friends and family will not be able to see her become the woman that she had the potential to be.
A spokesperson for VPEsports gave a quote about Sol, saying that she was an extraordinary person who will not soon be forgotten. At times of loss, it is not always easy to find peace. Sol means Sun in Portuguese, and the spokesperson recommended looking at the rising sun each day in remembrance of Ingrid "Sol" Oliveira Bueno da Silva. Those who knew her can think of the warmth that was given when she was living.