Gamer made hoax call that led to man being shot in the face in ‘swatting’ prank
A British gamer made a hoax call to a terrorist hotline in the US which led to police raiding an innocent man’s home and shooting him in the face.
Robert Walker-McDaid was taking part in a ‘swatting’ craze, which sees gamers make fake calls so that SWAT teams are sent round to someone’s home.
He called a Maryland terrorism hotline pretending to be Tyran Dobbs – who lives in Maryland – and claiming he had explosives and three hostages.
The 28-year-old told the operator the first hostage would be ‘executed within 15 minutes’ unless he received $15,000 in cash.
Believing the threat was real, the SWAT team swooped on Mr Dobbs’ home and shot him in the face and chest with plastic bullets.
Mr Dobbs suffered life-changing injuries and required reconstructive facial surgery following the hoax on February 18, 2015.
Walker-McDaid, of Coventry, became the first person charged in Britain with offences associated with ‘swatting’.
The hoax offence carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison in the US but is not recognised in British law.
Today, Walker-McDaid was sentenced to 20 months’ in prison, suspended for 18 months after he admitted perverting the course of justice.
Hannah Sidaway, Specialist Prosecutor for CPS West Midlands, said: Swatting is far more than a crude prank – it is a serious crime which can have devastating consequences.
‘Walker-McDaid may not have intended to cause such serious harm, but by sowing panic and deceiving law enforcement into responding to a fictitious threat, he left an innocent man with life-changing injuries.
‘British-based offenders who hide behind online anonymity to commit serious crimes abroad will not escape justice, and we will continue to work collaboratively with international partners to ensure and perpetrators will face the full force of the law.’
Walker-McDaid took part in the ‘swatting’ prank after a Skype conversation with Zachary Lee, a friend he’d made while playing video games.
On February 17, 2015, Lee, of Catonsville, Maryland, messaged Walker-McDaid, saying: ‘I have someone I need sw@tted.’
He gave him Mr Dobbs address and the next day Walker-McDaid called the terrorism hotline.
Several tactical units and crisis negotiators were called to Mr Dobb’s home and spent over two hours at the scene.
Howard County Police Department, the FBI and Interpol enquiries discovered the hoax call was made by a Skype user ‘Meowobikiniz’, using a Virgin IP address registered to Walker-McDaid’s home address.
Initially, the US planned to extradite Walker-McDaid to face swatting charges, but the extradition case was blocked and a later appeal also rejected.
As the offence was committed in the UK, there was a realistic prospect that Walker-McDaid could be prosecuted in his home country.
Lee was jailed for two years for his role in the prank in January 2018.
Erek L. Barron, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland, said: ‘We will continue to use every tool at our disposal and work closely with our international partners to ensure that those who seek to harm Americans will face justice, wherever they may be.’
In 2021, YouTube star JoJo Siwa revealed she was the victim of a ‘swatting’ prank.
She said police surrounded her LA home and told her to step outside with her hands up.
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