Twitter Spat Blamed for NYC Murder

Posted 01/12/2010 at 6:34am | by Paul Lilly

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It's tough being a geek. Remember when MySpace was cool? Neither do we at this point, and who knows, we might be saying the same about Twitter sometime down the line. Things were looking pretty good when Miley Cyrus up and quit the social networking service (feel free to follow suit, Ashton Kutcher), and now this happens.

Apparently, it takes 140 characters (or less) to drive someone to murder. Such is the case when 22-year-old Jameg Blake allegedly gunned down Kwame Dancy, his neighbor of the same age, following a verbal back-and-forth on Twitter.

"That's not a reason to shoot somebody," said Madeline Smith, Dancy's mother. "That's crazy. I don't know what's going on with that Twitter thing." 

According to the police report, just hours before the shooting, Dancy may have provoked Blake by tweeting "N----s is lookin for u don't think i won't give up ya address for a price betta chill asap!" 

Blake's account is also ripe with insults, but the only one that mentions Dancy by name reads "R.I.P. Kwame," posted on December 3, 2009.

According to the New York Daily Times, a police source said the messages may be subpoenaed to help prove there was bad blood between Blake and Dancy, who grew up together. But as for the shooting itself, authorities say they have a witness who identified Blake as the shooter, as well as video showing Blake leaving the area around the time of the incident carrying a bag large enough to hold a shotgun, the weapon used in the murder.