Yet another Twitch streamer has become a victim of “swatting” after trolls sent a squad of armed law enforcement officers to his mothers’ home during a broadcast on January 24.
[jwplayer QIWQDyD7]
‘Swatting’ is a crime that has risen in prominence over the past few years. Defined as a type of prank call, ‘swatting’ aims to send large amounts of armed law enforcement officers to a person’s home or other location, usually with claims that the target is endangering others.
In the past several years, a number of Twitch streamers and high-profile influencers have been victims of swatting — and despite a growing awareness regarding the topic, it continues to pose a significant problem.
Twitch streamer ‘Kwitty23’ is an example of this discouraging development. On January 24, the broadcaster revealed that he’d seen a number of messages in his chat from two accounts saying such phrases as “swat,” “look outside,” and “go check out your window before you’re the next reported dead body.”
This understandably concerned the streamer, who later discovered that the commenters in question had swatted his old address — the home of his mother, who, instead of Kwitty, had become the target of the swatting.
- Read More: When is CodeMiko back on Twitch?
That’s not all; the swatters had allegedly told police that “someone from this address said they were going to murder an infant child.”
“I thought they were trolls,” Kwitty tweeted of the incident. “Turns out they got a hold of my old address where my mom lives and sent the SWAT team. My mom had guns raised at her. I feel sick to my stomach.”
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
There we're a few people who came to my channel today during stream yelling "SWAT" and "look outside" i thought they were trolls, turns out they got a hold of my old address where my mom lives and sent the swat team and my mom had guns raised at her. I feel sick to my stomach.
— Kwitty23 aka Kdub (@Kwitty23) January 24, 2021
Kwitty went on to release the names of the accounts who had sounded off in his chat, asking his viewers to report them if possible.
Luckily, both Kwitty and his mother are okay, as the broadcaster explained in a Twitlonger posted on January 25.
“My mother is ok, just pretty shaken up of course, but we’ve been in contact with the local authorities and they are actively trying to track these individuals down,” he wrote. “We’ve also taken proper measures, so this hopefully wont happen again.”
The streamer advised the caller to seek therapy and urged streamers to take whatever measures necessary to protect themselves.
Kwitty’s situation comes on the heels of yet another high-profile swatting situation related to YouTuber JoJo Siwa, who was also swatted in wake of her coming out announcement on the weekend of January 22.
