"Grand Theft Auto fan is stabbed, hit with a brick and robbed by characters from game"

From The Daily Mail:

A 23-year-old man was hit with a brick, stabbed and robbed by characters from the newly released Grand Theft Auto computer game in a bizarre revenge attack after buying it at a London supermarket.

The man was attacked as he walked home from the Asda store in Colindale, north London, shortly after buying a copy of the game following its midnight release.

His attackers include a pedestrian whom the man planned to repeatedly run over in level 1, a prostitute whom the man had raped in level 2 of the previous version and three hooded characters who have to be sprayed with machine gun bullets in order to complete the game.

He is said to be in a stable condition in hospital following the incident which happened at around 1.20am. Surgeons reported that these were the most serious games-related injuries they had seen since an 11-year old suffered third degree burns after crashing in the pit lane in playing Formula 1 2013.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "A 23-year-old man was shopping, then on his way back home he was hit with a brick and stabbed. He was robbed of items he had bought from a nearby Asda supermarket including a copy of Grand Theft Auto.

"Crimes like this have been on the increase since characters from GTA III set fire to a Sony warehouse during the London disturbances in 2011."