This past Sunday, Varady’s Fortnite stream was interrupted when police showed up at his door. Police were responding to a claim made by one of Varady’s viewers that he and his mother were going to hang themselves. Luckily, no one was hurt during the ordeal, though it caused Varady to break down in tears during his stream, with him later calling it the “scariest moment” of his life.
Here is the moment where Rolly Ranchers was swatted, and his reaction to the experience:
It goes without saying that swatting is an incredibly dangerous “prank” that should carry with it significant consequences, regardless of if anyone was actually hurt during this instance of it. In the past, people have lost their lives because of swatting, with one of the most infamous incidents happening just a few months ago.
As some may recall, 28 year old father of two, Andrew Finch, was shot and killed during a swatting incident where he wasn’t even the intended victim. The swatter, Tyler Barriss, reportedly told police that there was an ongoing hostage situation at the Finch household, believing it to be the home of a Call of Duty teammate he was having an argument with.
Tyler Barriss was arrested and charged for his crimes. At the time of this writing, the person that decided to “swat” Rolly Ranchers has yet to be identified, but if so, they could face similar charges as Barriss, which included a felony count of false alarm. Considering how dangerous swatting is, it’s likely that laws and punishments against the “prank” will become stricter as time goes on and incidents keep occurring.
Fortnite is available now in early access on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Source: Kotaku
