Fortnite World Champion Bugha Swatted On Stream
In just the latest example of how awful people can be, Fortnite World Champion Kyle ‘Bugha’ Giersdorf was swatted while streaming over the weekend. Bugha was the big winner at the world championships last month, taking home a 3 million dollar prize. While streaming over the weekend, he was interrupted by his father who told him there were armed police at the door. Following a 10 minute absence, Bugha returned to the stream and explained what had happened.
For those who don’t know, Swatting is a dangerous tactic employed by trolls. They make a false police report in hopes of getting armed police sent to the victim’s house. A similar event lead to the death of a Kansas City man named Andrew Finch in 2017, when police were dispatched to the wrong address after a swatting hoax was called in. Fortunately, Bugha wasn’t harmed due to an officer that lived in the area knowing who he was.
While we’re thankful that Bugha is okay, this kind of behavior simply has to stop. It’s not funny, and it’s not a prank. It could lead to someone getting killed, and not necessarily the person being targeted. And as we learned last year, you can be held criminally liable for the results. Tyler Barriss, who made the call that lead the death of Andrew Finch, was sentenced to twenty years in prison.
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