Man drove 5000 kilometres to kill Twitch streamer Matthew Thane

Police believe a man drove more than 5000km in less than 72 hours to kill a teenager over an online gaming dispute, before taking his own life.

A 23-year-old male is believed to his taken his own life as a SWAT team descended on his house after he took a 5000km round trip to allegedly kill a teenager over an online gaming dispute.

Matthew Thane, 18, was shot dead about 6am on Tuesday morning at his home in Flower Mound, Texas.

On Wednesday night police in the California town of Pleasanton, close to 2700km away, moved to arrest the man they suspected was behind Mr Thane’s murder, but he is believed to have taken his own life before they could arrest him.

About 11pm he was found dead from a gunshot wound inside a house.

RELATED: Fortnite’s petty shot in Apple war

Matthew Thane, 18, was shot dead on Tuesday morning. Picture: GoFundMe

RELATED: New way military is targeting kids

RELATED: Groom spends $11k wedding money on PC

Evidence reportedly found on his mobile phone linked him to the murder in Texas, according to Bay Area publication the Mercury News.

Flower Mound detectives released a statement Tuesday night saying the suspected shooter of Mr Thane wore a helmet and jeans, and was thought to have immediately fled the area.

A Bay Area police official told the Mercury News the suspected killer set a propane tank on fire outside Mr Thane’s house to lure him outside, where he was then shot dead.

Police believed the pair knew each other through online gaming and are investigating whether it was related to a dispute between the pair.

Originally published as Man drove 5000 kilometres to kill Twitch streamer Matthew Thane