WinOut

As reported earlier by other eSports websites a rumor that Shaun "hostile" Catron had been attacked and robbed after a day of matches at the ESL Extreme Masters III Global Finals event in Hannover, Germany.  Later, it was confirmed by the official Gravitas Gaming website that he was infact brutally attacked by a group of unknown assailants.

WinOut had the chance to interview Shaun "Hostile" Catron regarding the attack.

So, we've heard some rumors that you were attacked in Germany, lets get right to it...What really happened?

Shaun "hostile" Catron: Well we went out to eat with our team downtown, so once we were done we all took a taxi back to the housing area that me and thomz were staying at. Once we got out of the taxi  four guys approached us and were genuinely ...nice.  We talked for a little while and then they went on their way. So we walked towards the house and before we went inside I told Tom I was gonna go get a beer really quick if he wanted to come, he didn't so I just walked 30 seconds to the pub. When I left the pub I noticed the four people were back by my area, so when I went to walk home I assumed nothing of it. When i went to walk by them one of them instantly punched me and another jumped in. They hit me 5-6 times total I think? When I tried to give any resistance one of them pulled out a gun and said "shut the f@#k up, don't say a word or I'll f#@!ing kill you."  They took my wallet, my backpack and cellphone, they gave the wallet and backpack back.... took all the money. Oh yeah [and] they took my camera out of my backpack.

That's a shame to hear.  What kind of injuries resulted?

Shaun "hostile" Catron: I had a pretty bloody nose, and my chin was split wide open. My Gravitas shirt logo went from white to red, and my jeans are pretty bloody too. I wanted to go to the hospital because I was sure I needed stiches for my chin, and they put 5 stiches in it to close it up.

Wow, that sounds pretty brutal.  Was there any reason why these men would have attacked you? Did an arguement take place prior to the attack?  Did they leave on their own or did you get help from any bystanders?

Shaun "hostile" Catron: No, we actually had a really friendly conversation before I walked over to the pub. That's why I really didn't expect anything to come from them. There really wasn't anybody around it was 1 AM. I was the last person to leave the pub. I was there for about 2 minutes flat. They actually all got in a taxi and left with a 5th person that came after the incident.

Have you reported the incident to German officials, and to the ESL event hosts? Any word on that?

Shaun "hostile" Catron: Yes the owner of ESL came to see me at the hospital with the police, they have a full report and actually have 3 leads... The people are quite retarded... stole my phone and then used it instantly to call people. As well as getting a taxi for 5 people past 1 AM on the main street in Hannover, they said that's not very hard to track. As well as my phone being an iPhone and having the serial number :P my phone is being tracked.

That seems very courteous of the ESL, especially considering the incident took place after 1 AM local time.  Do you think the housing conditions provided by the ESL were part at fault for this occurence?  Did they put you up in an unsafe area?  Where are you now?

Shaun "hostile" Catron: Courteous of ESL..? they came to see me in the hospital, like they should have it's their event. I respect them for coming and thank them for the help, but lets be real what do you expect to happen when you put people in such bad areas. I kid you not, 3 different taxi drivers could not find where we are on a roadmap, the street was not even there. Do I blame ESL entirely for this incident? No. But splitting entire teams up into 3 different houses 3 miles apart from 1 another, as well as putting us in areas that ARE NOT SAFE. you be the judge for yourself. We bought a hotel room to get the f@$! out of the s@#$hole we were put in.

That sounds absolutely absurd.  What were the actual housing conditions provided? Were you given 1 room in a German household? Were you aware of this housing condition prior to your arrival in Hannover?

Shaun "hostile" Catron: Well for my understanding, people volunteer their house for people to stay in? I think that's how it was, and NO I had no idea this was the housing arrangements, I thought it was a joke when I first heard it.

When did you first hear about it? Was an alternate solution provided to you, or only out of your own pocket once in Germany?

Shaun "hostile" Catron: Was either get out and stay at this place or pay out of pocket for a hotel room, we spent 100euros each to get the hell out of the housing areas that we were assigned to... and would honestly like an explanation from ESL why they feel it's acceptable to just house us wherever the hell they want. I can tell that none of these locations were researched or even put any thought into "Should we really put these people here?"

This sounds absolutely absurd and hopefully we'll be able to get a response from the ESL regarding the issue and help to prevent something like this from happening again.  Do you have any other comments regarding the incident or surrounding issues?

Shaun "hostile" Catron: Yeah I'd like a responce from ESL as well, as to who the hell they think they are housing these teams and players in such unsafe areas. Were no precautions ever taken? I know this isn't the first incident where someone at an event gets jumped in an unsafe part of town. I recall in 05 at ESWC when I was there one of the teams went through an unsafe part of town and got jumped. It's almost common sense... bad things happen in bad areas

Shaun "hostile" Catron: The last comment I would like to leave is regardless of what anyone thinks of me or how I "act" online, being held at gunpoint isn't funny and isn't "karma." I've never done anything to harm somebody else and I would never ever wish what happened to me tonight upon a single person in the world. Do you know what it feels like to have a gun to your head? Until you do you don't know what I experienced tonight and the seriousness of it.

Thanks so much for the interview Shaun.  All of us from WinOut, and all of your fans wish that you get better soon.  I'd also like to say on a personal note, do not let the words of few take on the voice of many.  Those in the community that have common sense are aware of the severity of the incident and would hope that this does not happen to anyone, especially one of our own.  We will stand behind you to ensure there are repercussions for this and to help prevent something like this from happening again.