It’s been a little over a month since Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf took his cup home, and just like any 16-year-old during the summer holiday, he was playing Fortnite and streaming it. What he didn’t expect was to be interrupted by his dad, telling him armed police were at the door and he had to leave mid-game to solve the issue (video here).
“Dad I actually can’t […] I’ve been swatted?”
It turned out he was swatted! After learning it from his father, he gets up from his desk, and after 10 minutes, you can hear him saying:
“Well that’s a new one”
“They came in with guns, bro. They literally pulled up… that’s scary… the internet’s […] crazy.”
– video
Bugha is the latest victim of such harassment, in which someone makes a false report about something suspicious happening at an address. Most of the times, the reports are of serious crimes like a bomb threat, murder, or anything that would need to have armed police – a SWAT team – come to the address.
Fortunately, Giersdorf and his family are safe because one of the police officers knows the teen, as they live in the same neighborhood, and the situation was quickly settled.
However, back in 2017, a similar swatting ended in a man’s death after a Call of Duty dispute. The police killed the man that was swatted. According to AP, the man that made the false report pleaded guilty and faces a 20-year prison sentence.
As for Bugha, he has gathered nearly 350K views on Twitch (two videos) with people spamming the chat “he got swatted.”
The FBI guidelines for these types of pranks claim that the callers do it for “bragging rights and ego.” The issue is that “the community is placed in danger as responders rush to the scene, taking them away from real emergencies. And the officers are placed in danger as unsuspecting residents may try to defend themselves,” added an article on the FBI website that explains what swatting is and what to do in such a situation.
Sonia Theo has a long experience in writing, and now she is our associate journalist covering tech, gaming and mobile news. She has a BA in English and German and a BA in Arts and Design. Sonia likes writing about the latest updates in current and future games, guides and reviews. Her favorite past times is gaming, crafting and cooking. Sonia is always ready to help players with tips when they’re in a tough boss fight.
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