Think It's Funny 'Swatting' Your Gaming Buds? Twitch Live Stream Shows Police Are Not Amused

Twitch streamer and YouTuber Jordan “Kootra” Mathewson is the latest victim in a trend called “Swatting.” People who tuned into The Creatures’ Twitch channel this past Wednesday to watch Mathewson play Counter-Strike: Global Offensive witnessed SWAT officers enter the room and arrest Mathewson in response to a false report of an active shooter.

Mathewson was live-streaming on The Creatures, a group of gamers who create content for YouTube, Twitch channel at the group’s office building when SWAT busted in. Police had received an anonymous call, via landline, that claimed there was an active shooter. Streamers watched for about six minutes as the police officers arrested Mathewson, searched him, and briefly questioned him before the stream was turned off.

Mathewson was live-streaming on The Creatures, a group of gamers who create content for YouTube, Twitch channel at the group’s office building when SWAT busted in. Police had received an anonymous call, via landline, that claimed there was an active shooter who had killed several co-workers and that bombs had been planted inside the building where he was working. Streamers watched for about six minutes as the police officers arrested Mathewson, searched him, and briefly questioned him before the stream was turned off.

Not only was Mathewson arrested, but nearby schools in the area were put on full lock down and people evacuated as police searched for bombs and the non-existent killer.

Swatting, a practice where someone tricks any emergency service into responding to a false claim of a critical incident, is a trend that seems to be growing within the gaming community and a growing concern. A number of YouTubers and Twitch streamers have fallen victim to this so-called prank. Nine days ago, another Twitch streamer, who goes by the name Whiteboy7thst, was arrested when police received a false report of a bomb threat (while the report was false, he was arrested when police discovered marijuana while looking for the bomb). 

Police are still investigating the call that was made, which led to Mathewson’s arrest, and are looking for the party responsible. In the meantime, a person that goes by @ScrewPain on Twitter has claimed responsibility on his account for the swatting prank. Whether his claims are true or not remains to be seen.

But what do you think of Swatting? Is it only a matter of time before someone is accidentally hurt (or worse) because of this?