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16-Year-Old Fortnite Champ Kyle 'Bugha' Giersdorf 'Swatted' During Livestream
Fortnite World Cup champion Kyle "Bugha" Giersdorf was "swatted" while livestreaming on Twitch on Saturday, reports ESPN.
Giersdorf, who is 16 and from Pennsylvania, won the first-ever Fortnite World Cup in July and earned a $3 million prize.
According to ESPN, Giersdorf was livestreaming with friends when the incident occurred and he was heard saying, "I've been swatted," before disappearing for about 10 minutes.
Swatting is a harassment tactic when a prank call is made to emergency services in an attempt to bring police, particularly a SWAT team, to an unassuming address.
Cpl. Albert Werner, of the Upper Pottsgrove Township Police told ESPN that the department received a call from someone acting as the star gamer who told police he killed his father and had tied up his mother in the garage.
Giersdorf returned to the stream, telling friends, "They came in with guns, bro. They literally pulled up. ... That's scary. ... The internet's f------ crazy." He added one of the officers recognized him, which deescalated the situation.
Werner told ESPN that they believe the call came from Europe.
In March, a California man was sentenced to 20 years in prison for making bogus emergency calls to authorities across the U.S., including one that led police to fatally shoot a Kansas man following a dispute between two online players over a $1.50 bet in the Call of Duty: WWII video game. The call led to the 2017 death of 28-year-old Andrew Finch. Authorities say an Ohio gamer recruited Barriss to "swat" a Wichita gamer, but that the address they used was old, leading police to Finch, who was not involved in the video game or the dispute. Barriss called Wichita police from Los Angeles on Dec. 28, 2017, to falsely report a shooting and kidnapping at that Wichita address. Finch answered the door, and an officer shot the unarmed man.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
