A while ago we brought you a story about how swatting incidents tend to be caused by people who are a little too young to know what they’re doing. Back then, we heard a story of swatting incidents being attributed to a 19-year-old, who is technically of legal age and can be tried as an adult. However a recent string of swatting incidents have been attributed to someone who is only 13, over Minecraft of all things.
The name of the suspect has not been released due to the boy’s age. However he’s been linked to more than three swatting incident so far. His most recent swatting prank included a bomb threat and a ransom of $30,000.
“The Camarillo incident there were 20-plus officers there. I was at that call. We basically surrounded the house. The caller reported there were 10 hostages in the house and demanded $30,000 in cash or he would blow up the house,” Det. Gene Martinez of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department said in a telephone interview with Ars Technica. “Whenever there is a hostage situation, we activate specialized units to respond.”
Aside from this incident, the suspect was linked with a swatting attack in Ocean County, New Jersey, which turned out to be one of his Minecraft gaming rivals. He was linked to two other attacks as well, one on one of his teachers, and one on one of his classmates.
The boy was caught by tracing VoIP calls to his house. Authorities then found phone spoofing software on his computer. The suspect is currently in custody of his parents pending a juvenile court hearing scheduled for next month.
The boy did apologize for his behavior but he also said that he felt as he was wronged.
It is particularly depressing when parts of the gaming community find this sort of behavior acceptable. It should never be okay to hurt someone in real life over actions that they take out a digital environment. The whole point of games is that they are a safe and easy way to express emotions and take out aggressions in an environment that won’t hurt anybody. Nobody who plays a first person shooter really wants someone to get shot, or at least they shouldn’t.
What do you think about swatting? Harmless prank or serious social problem? Let us know in the comments.
Source: Ars Technica