Bungie executive swatted by unknown prankster

The phenomenon of "swatting" — calling in a fake threat to get a SWAT team sent to someone's home — is both illegal and potentially dangerous. That hasn't stopped the "prank" from taking place in growing numbers, however, and newest to the list of victims is an unnamed Bungie executive. Law enforcement descended upon his Washington home in the wee morning hours yesterday following a call that was believed to come from the home making big claims: a family held hostage, bombs, and guns.

According to KOMO News, police received a call very early yesterday morning from someone claiming to be holding the Bungie executive and his family hostage, saying he had an assault rifle and that he'd buried bombs in the lawn. The caller then requested a $20,000 ransom to let the family go.

As expected, law enforcement descended on the home, with SWAT on standby and a helicopter hovering above. They stood outside for about 45 minutes trying to figure out the situation, eventually determining that the call did not come from the home and that the family was, instead, sleeping safely in their beds. According to Bungie, the victim is doing fine.

This is the latest in a long run of prank calls that have police raid unsuspecting victims, often gamers. Many videos exist showing gamers being raided while playing live, such as Counter-Strike gamer Jordan Gilbert who had his raid captured on video and published this past summer.

SOURCE: KOMO News