Police shot man after hoax call by gamer
A BRITISH gamer has been spared jail for making a hoax call to a terrorist hotline about a rival who was shot in the face by US police.
Robert Walker-McDaid is the first Briton to be charged for taking part in the “swatting” craze, where gamers make fake calls to police so that SWAT teams are sent to victims’ homes.
Walker-McDaid, 28, called a Maryland terrorism hotline posing as Tyran Dobbs, claiming he had plastic explosives and three hostages.
He told the operator the first hostage would be “executed within 15 minutes” unless he received $15,000.
Believing the threat was real, the SWAT team swooped on Mr Dobbs’ home and shot him in the face and chest with plastic bullets.
Devastating
Mr Dobbs suffered life-changing injuries and required reconstructive facial surgery following the hoax in February 2015.
Walker-McDaid, of Coventry, was 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. Attempts to extradite him to the US were blocked.
Yesterday, Walker-McDaid was sentenced to 20 months in prison, suspended, after he admitted perverting the course of justice at Warwick Crown Court.
Prosecutor Hannah Sidaway said: “Swatting is far more than a crude prank – it is a serious crime which can have devastating consequences.
“He left an innocent man with life-changing injuries.We will continue to work with international partners to ensure perpetrators face the full force of the law.”