A fake call to the police by an unknown malicious actor led to YouTuber Tim Pool being “swatted” last night, with police storming his studio while he, his guest, and his crew recorded an episode live on air.
“Swatting” is a dangerous, criminal form of online harassment involving police being called to a target’s location based on a false report of an ongoing crime. Previous swatting incidents have been precipitated by false reports of shootings, bomb scares, and other dangerous situations.
Footage from Pool’s podcast shows police officers entering the studio.
In the past, swatting has led to deaths as armed police have opened fire on unsuspecting swatting targets. In 2017, a 28-year old man in Kansas was shot and killed by police during a swatting incident. In 2020, a 60-year old man in Tennessee died of a heart attack after being targeted by a swatting hoax.
According to Pool, the swatting incident involved police from several jurisdictions in eight vehicles. The swatter reportedly told police that an active shooting was underway at the property.
“Someone called police and said they shot and killed two people and were going to kill more,” said Pool. “Police were told not to enter without a warrant but said they didn’t need one due to exigent circumstances. This is a large house used as a production studio with many employees on site.”
Police radio recordings appear to indicate that officers suspected the call was a swatting hoax.
Reacting to the incident live on air, regular co-host Luke Rudkowski highlighted the dangerousness of swatting.
“That’s something that’s extremely dangerous, extremely reckless… Swat incidents have led to a lot of innocent people dying. Dogs being shot. People being shot. People thinking that their house is being raided by criminals, [and] defending themselves.”
Allum Bokhari is the senior technology correspondent at Breitbart News. He is the author of #DELETED: Big Tech’s Battle to Erase the Trump Movement and Steal The Election.
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