Increasingly, swatting seems to happen for no reason at all. The term refers to Special Weapons and Tactics, or SWAT, teams of law enforcement that will forcefully respond to what they believe are crimes in progress. Streamers who express opinions that receive backlash from their audience or who get into feuds with other creators tend to be common targets for swatting. Swatting is an issue that has threatened livestreamers for years, and often has links to the far-right and misogynist online communities. "This person's intent was to get me shot and killed." Swatting is intended to cause harm to streamers and can be a serious crime "This caller, according to the police, said that I shot everybody in the house," Frags said. He realized the police had come over expecting "a shootout." On the stream, an officer in what appears to be body armor can be seen walking past the camera holding a rifle before a voice off camera announces "Horry County police."įrags went outside and was handcuffed, he said, and he was told what he had been accused of. Horry County and Myrtle County police departments did not return Insider's request for comment. The whole time, he kept thinking about his dogs, and pleaded with officers not to hurt them. He kept the stream going, and told his viewers what was happening. Frags said he made hand gestures to the officers that he could see and hear them, and they responded by telling him to come out with his hands up. Shortly after Frags noticed his dog pacing around, he said he was met with a group of about 12 police officers with their guns drawn. His time on the platform meant he knew immediately that he was a victim of swatting - when a viewer will call law enforcement with a made-up threat at a streamer's address, such as saying they are selling drugs, have a gun, or have hurt their family, so that armed police show up. "And I was just like, all right, I've seen enough of this - I know what happens."įrags, 38, has been on the streaming platform Twitch for eight years, where he streams videos of himself cooking under the name HeyItsMeSalty. "I looked outside and I just saw a police officer in his car and he pointed at his eyes and pointed at me," Frags said. Ringo, who is blind, is very in tune with his surroundings, Frags told Insider, so when he started to wander around the living room, Frags knew something was up. Nick Frags was in the middle of livestreaming himself making tacos for his family when one of his rescue pit bulls started to behave strangely. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |