Police announce ID of man who allegedly drove from California to Texas to kill gamer
Police in Flower Mound have announced the identity of the man accused of driving from California to Texas to kill a teen he played online video games with. He killed himself a day later in California as authorities tried to arrest him.
Alexander Frank Baro, 23, was recently identified by the Alameda County Coroner’s Bureau as the suspect, police said in posts on Twitter and Facebook. He’s accused of fatally shooting 18-year-old Matthew Thane, of Flower Mound, in front of his home on Aug. 18.
Baro drove back to his residence in Pleasanton, California and took his own life as local and Flower Mound police were trying to get him to come outside, the department said. Police posted a picture of the suspect.
“Detectives are still processing several pieces of evidence as part of the active and ongoing investigation,” police said.
After the shooting almost a month ago in the Dallas-Fort Worth suburb, detectives were able to determine Baro and Thane knew each other through online video games, police said. They were investigating whether the two were in a gaming feud, according to The Mercury News, a newspaper serving California’s Bay Area.
Thane’s family told the paper he went by “JPN” or “Japan” in online gaming. He reportedly played “Call of Duty.”
Detectives obtained cell phone data that showed Baro drove around 1,700 miles from his home in Pleasanton to Thane’s home in Flower Mound, police said. Wearing a helmet, he lured Thane outside early on Aug. 18 by setting fire to a propane tank, according to the Dallas Morning News.
Police responded to the 3600 block of Green Meadow Lane around 5:55 a.m. and found Thane dead with a gunshot wound, police said in a Facebook post. No one else was injured.
The following night, Flower Mound officers worked with Pleasanton police to try to serve a search warrant at Baro’s home, police said. He is believed to have died by suicide as they were attempting to get him outside, police said.
The department said on social media it will share more information when it’s available.
This story was originally published September 12, 2020 at 11:48 AM.
