Armed police arrived at the home of the world’s best Fortniteplayer, after he was “swatted” while live streaming.
Kyle ‘Bugha’ Giersdorf is the latest victim of this form of criminal harassment, whereby someone makes a false report in order for police to show up at a person’s address.
The practice has become popular within the gaming community in recent years and has even resulted in the deaths of some victims after they were shot by armed police.
Bugha is one of the most high-profile victims of the dangerous hoax, having recently won $3 million (£2.4m) in the Solos competition of the Fortnite World Cup finals in July.
Fortnite developer Epic Games described the event as ”the most participated-in tournament of all time”.
The 16-year-old from Pennsylvania beat more than 40 million players around the world to the grand prize, which was the largest ever winnings in the history of eSports events.
“Dad I actually can’t,” he can be heard saying over the live stream. “I’ve been swatted?”
Bugha’s Fortnite character was then abandoned mid game and died shortly after. After 10 minutes, Bugha returned to the game to confirm that he had been swatted.
“Well that’s a new one,” he said. “They came in with guns, bro. They literally pulled up... that’s scary... the internet’s f***ing crazy.”
Bugha said the situation was diffused after one of the armed officers recognised him.
Earlier this year a man was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment after a 2017 swatting prank resulted in the death of a 28-year-old father of two.
Guidelines published by the Federal Bureau of Investigation claim pranksters do it for "bragging rights and ego" rather than monetary gain.
"The callers often tell tales of hostages about to be executed or bombs about to go off," the guidelines state.
"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."
