FaZe Clan Fortnite pro Nate Hill’s most recent Twitch stream was cut short as he became just the latest streamer to get swatted while live. Comforting concerned fans, he has since confirmed that the incident was resolved safely.
While it’s existed for years, it feels like “swatting” has become much more prevalent over the past year or so as large names in the gaming community get exposed to the malicious behavior that involves subjecting a victim to a surprise visit from a concerned police force.
In essence, swatting is when someone misleads emergency services in order to send as heavily armed and numbered a police force as possible to a victim’s home. An evolution of bomb threat hoaxes, callers aim to endanger their targets by getting a SWAT team sent to their home.
In the third high-profile swatting attack in three months, Hill’s stream was cut short as a roommate told him that he needed to exit his room because the police had arrived. While the moment was shocking, to say the least, he has since updated fans with confirmation of safety and a scathing remark for the caller.
As seen in the clip, Hill is surprised by the intrusion and quickly leaves his stream to settle the situation. Fortunately, like Turner ‘Tfue’ Tenney in December and Phillip ‘ImperialHal’ Dosen in January, Hill’s swatting incident ended safely.
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This is a relieving update for fans to hear, as a 2017 Wichita, Kansas swatting incident led to the fatal shooting of an innocent person following a disagreement over Call of Duty: WWII. The caller in that incident, Tyler Barriss, was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in federal prison.
Considering that context, it should be no surprise that fans are overjoyed to hear that Hill’s incident resolved safely. The replies to his tweet essentially evoke a communal sigh of relief.
Anybody who was watching the stream don’t worry everything’s fine. A lot of sick fucks out there, be careful
— Nate Hill (@NateHillTV) February 24, 2021
In the tweet, Hill also offers a resounding moral to this story: “A lot of sick f**ks out there, be careful.”
With the difficulty in convicting swatters and the increased prevalence of the criminal behavior over the past few months, it’s clear that security should be a priority — particularly for high-profile streamers. Fans are surely happy that Hill is safe, but also hopeful that these recent string of swatters can be found and sentenced to jail time as a deterrent to others.
