A Twitch streamer and his family living in Puyallup, Washington fell victim to a swatting incident recently, KING 5 reports.
Seattle Police defined swatting as "the act of creating a hoax 911 call typically involving hostages, gunfire, or other acts of extreme violence, with the goal of diverting emergency public safety resources to an unsuspecting person's residence." Authorities say such incidents have led to actual deaths, as well.
Reporters say the prank call came in late Monday night (April 4), falsely reporting a shooting and a potential suicide at the family's address. Officers, who were staged a block away from the home, made contact with the family via phone, according to the incident report. One of the occupants exited the house with her hands in the air and spoke with officers, authorities say.
A woman and her two sons stayed outside while officers confirmed no one inside the home was hurt, according to police.
“These kids think this is a joke, or these people think this is a joke," the swatting victim, who wished to remain anonymous, told reporters. "This is no joke, I mean lives could’ve been lost.”
One of the sons told police he streams on Twitch, a popular live-streaming platform known mostly for gaming content. The streamer claims his Twitch account was somehow sold to someone without his permission last year, giving the person access to his home address, phone number and credit card information, according to reporters.
Even though the streamer got his account back, he claims he received photos of his home from someone he believes to be the purchaser. The streamer, concerned he might be swatted, contacted police about the messages, police noted.
The situation has left the family shaken and worried.
"So, is the SWAT team gonna come out every time my son streams? I don’t know," the victim says. "My son said, well maybe I should move out and I’m like you’re gonna move out, I don’t want you somewhere else, So we’re like, we don’t know what to do about it."
Swatting has become a bigger issue in Western Washington, especially for Twitch streamers and online personalities. Several high-profile and lesser-known streamers have become victims of this crime over the last few years, as Looper has cataloged.
For more resources on how to protect yourself from swatting, click HERE to visit Seattle Police's webpage about the crime.