UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley is the latest victim of the dangerously stupid trend that is “swatting.”
O’Malley released footage on his podcast, the Timbo Sugarshow, on Monday and included doorbell cam footage of the incident that included police actually breaking the camera, and the UFC champ exiting his home, hands raised.
“Swatting” rose to prominence in the gaming community, and involves calling in a false report to police that would result in a heavy-handed police reaction — generally claims of a bomb threat, active shooter, or hostage taking. That was the case with O’Malley, who was actually gaming when the incident happened, though it isn’t clear if that sparked the hoax call.
O’Malley, however, recalled what went down during the incident.
“I peek out my head out the window to see if maybe it’s something else, but then they’re on the intercom and I see a bunch of cops. They’re like, ‘Walk out with your hands up.’ So I f*ckin’ walk out, hands up. I was like, ‘I’m just going to listen. I could get shot,’” stated O’Malley (h/t MMA Junkie). I was like, ‘OK, if I just listen to them, I’ll be all right.’ But you never know: Someone sneezes, pulls the trigger – I’ve got f*ckin’ shotguns pointed at me, AR-[15]s from like four different cops pointed at me. I was like, ‘I’m just going to listen and f*cking walk back.”
O’Malley was led to the back of a police cruiser in handcuffs. Unfortunately for him, no one recognized the UFC champion, at least not initially. As for what brought about a heavily armed police response at O’Malley’s residence, “they said I killed my parents or something like that, and they thought there was an active shooter inside. They’re like ‘who’s inside,’ I’m like ‘I was just gaming.’ ‘Who’s inside,’ ‘like no one.'”
Needless to say, Sean O’Malley’s parents are just fine, though obviously concerned for their son. As for the culprit, O’Malley added that “I wish we could find that little weasel that called them,” but it seems police are struggling to do just that.
Swatting incidents, probably one of the most gutless crimes possible, have repeatedly led to the loss of innocent lives.
