The Fortnite World Champion, Who is From Pottsgrove, Was "Swatted"
So I had to read this story twice to understand exactly what the hell happened.
Apparently the 16-year-old kid who won $3 million by becoming the Fortnite World Cup champion is from Pottsgrove, so he’s one of us. He’s a Philly suburbs guy. I had no clue.
Now that he’s world-famous as an eSports TITAN, Kyle Giersdorf has a bunch of assholes on his trail, and one of those people called the police in a false alarm situation known as “swatting.”
ESPN explains after the jump:
Giersdorf was playing Fortnite Arena Trios with friends when the incident occurred. Giersdorf could be heard talking to his father. “I’ve been swatted,” he said before disappearing for approximately 10 minutes.
“Swatting” is a criminal harassment tactic in which someone reports a false emergency to get authorities, particularly a SWAT team, to descend on an unsuspecting target.
…
Cpl. Albert Werner of the Upper Pottsgrove Township Police told ESPN that the department received a call from a person acting as Giersdorf. The caller told police he had killed his father, shooting him multiple times, and tied up his mother in the garage.
Police headed to the Giersdorf home and surrounded it. Werner said it’s procedure to then call into the home. When police called, Giersdorf’s father answered the phone, then came out the front door.
Werner said the entire incident only lasted about a half hour but involved lots of resources. He added that police believe the call came from Europe.
Well shit. That escalated quickly. Glad to hear that everybody is alright.
On a serious note, I can’t believe this kid made $3 million playing video games. I grew up five minutes up the road, in Gilbertsville, and spent hours playing Diablo and Goldeneye in the basement, and all I ended up with was a job at Crossing Broad.
Time’s yours.