<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Nz8yLIOb2pU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> This is apparently a growing trend in the game streaming community. Someone watching a gamer live stream calls in a fake shooting, bomb, etc. threat to the police and watch as SWAT breaks in and apprehends the streamer. The people who do this need to realize that someone could get killed in these kind of situations. The guy who gets "swatted" in this video is a part of a gaming/Youtube group that has an office in Colorado where they do a lot of skits; some involving masks, fake guns, things of that nature. If they happened to have been filming such a skit when SWAT showed up, they could have been shot on site. This is something that more gamers should be aware of and that the police monitor more closely.
This has been going around for a while now. A kid in Houston just last week I believe was SWATTED and had a SWAT team surround his home for no reason. Insanely ridiculous and a waste of money, time and officers on patrol.
I can understand sending someone pizzas or taxis or something and just causing a minor disruption, but something as dangerous as this is way beyond the line.
Can't understand why anyone would find swatting entertaining except for trolls. Such a waste of time and money. Just imagine if the guy was playing with loud speakers and the cops stormed in when they were shooting. Itchy trigger fingers already.
I feel like the real issue here is why do cops get the right to bust in your house and put you in custody just because they receive a phone call
This is further evidence that gamers are completely divorced from reality. This is the dumbest thing I've ever heard of.
For this particular situation, they were in an office building near two public schools, so it's sort of understandable. They shut down and evacuated both schools and other nearby offices and handcuffed all of the guys in the office. All because some troll wanted to laugh.
Vice video on this: <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/-ziLjOPCQwg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Unfortunately, it is easy to call in these threats and hard to track down the people who do it.
The first real issue here is that it isn't funny at all, and anyone who does this sort of thing needs to be strung up by the short curlies. Why they get the right to bust in is another issue entirely.
seeing all those swat officers walking down that street made me sick... the over militarization of our police forces is a real issue and its only going to get worse.
The scene with the largest amount of swat officers was during the Boston marathon bombing search. They used many scenes from that one instance. I'm glad you can find humor in 'swatting' and disgust with the officers.
A lot of the times the calls say that there are hostages or people in danger. Otherwise, they would just send an officer. This is a really dumb trend. This is one of the few that I do not see the humor in at all. Well this and the knockout game....
Im sorry that I'm not to keen on the idea that someone can bust down my door and shoot me if i dont do everything they say... plus the whole thing would probably be covered up by the local PD so they can keep receiving grants for weapons that they do not need. I find it funny in the sense that the officers look like dip****s
