The swatting prank latest victim is a Colorado gamer named Jordan Mathewson. Swatting is becoming a trend and anyone with a little bit of celebrity status can become a target. So, what is swatting?
A swatting prank occurs when hackers call emergency services warning them about a critical situation at a specific location. The only problem in all of this is the fact the said situation is fake. The response from law enforcement like SWAT teams is always real.
Jordan Mathewson a gamer from Colorado is the most recent high profile swatting prank victim. The incident occurred on Wednesday, and it was all caught on tape.
Mathewson uses the moniker Kootra when he’s playing online and he’s a very popular member in the internet gaming community. Earlier this week, while broadcasting one of his sessions for YouTube and Twitter followers, his office was raided by a SWAT team.
Although it was a very stressing experience, Mathewson said that he knew right away that he was being targeted by a swatting prank. The young man told ABC Denver:
“I knew almost right away what exactly was happening. But I was still frightened you know, having some guns pointed at you isn’t exactly the most common thing.”
Celebrities like Tom Cruise, Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber and Chris Brown have all been victims of swatting in the past. This type of prank is considered a misdemeanor or a felony in America. The real issue is the chaos it causes for law enforcement authorities and emergency services. Swatting often leads to close call situations that can have dangerous consequences for the parties involved.
Mathewson does not understand what motivates people behind these pranks other than the fact they can witness the chaos being spread live. He said:
“They get to see all this go down right before their eyes and, you know, it’s fun to them.”
Police in Littleton, the municipality where the incident took place do not find all of this funny. They released a forceful statement, following the events, it read:
“If the investigation determines that today’s incident was a hoax, those involved will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Littleton Police Chief Doug Stephens was even more clear, according to Examiner, he said:
“This is not a game. It’s not an online game. We have real guns, real bullets and there’s a potential there for some tragedy.”
Someone was interrogated by Littleton police regarding the Colorado gamer swatting prank, the individual was later released because the investigation is still ongoing.
