Fortnite champion Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf’s home was stormed by police during a livestreaming session on Saturday night, just weeks after winning $3-million at the Fortnite World Cup.
Giersdorf was playing the popular first-person shooter game with other gamers when he suddenly disappeared from his keyboard.
He returned 10 minutes later to let his peers know he’d been “swatted,” a term used to describe incidents involving a hoax call to the police, resulting in armed officers descending on the victim’s house.
“That’s a new one,” he can be heard saying in the Twitch clip. “They came in with guns, bro. They literally pulled up… that’s scary… the internet’s f**king crazy.”
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Police received a call from someone pretending to be the champion gamer, saying he was holding his mother hostage after killing his father, Cpl. Albert Werner of the Upper Pottsgrove Township Police told ESPN.
The entire situation, Werner continued, only lasted 30 minutes but required many resources to deal with the call they believe came from Europe.
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Police surrounded the home and called into it. Giersdorf’s father reportedly answered the call and came out the front door.
According to the sports publication, the situation was quickly deescalated once an officer recognized Giersdorf.
These incidents of “swatting” are not new.
In 2017, Andrew Finch was shot and killed by police officers when they responded to a fake call reporting a shooting and hostage situation at the 28-year-old’s home. He was a father of two.
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The 26-year-old man who made the call — as revenge for losing a game of Call of Duty — was later sentenced to 20 years in prison, the Washington Post reported.
Adeline Finch, 18, who was there when police raided the Finch household, died by suicide just over one year after witnessing her uncle’s death, the Wichita Eagle reported.
Back in March, her 20-year-old live-in boyfriend, Jeremy Arnold, was also found dead from apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds. He discovered Adeline’s body.
Andrew’s sister, Dominica Finch, attributes both deaths to the deadly swatting attack.
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meaghan.wray@globalnews.ca