81-year-old Minecraft streamer swatted while raising money for grandson's cancer treatment

An image of GrammaCrackers, smiling and wearing headphones.
(Image credit: GrammaCrackers)

GrammaCrackers, an 81-year-old Minecraft streamer raising money for her grandson's cancer treatment, fell victim to a swatting recently, with numerous police cars, SWAT trucks, and officers appearing at her home as she slept (via TheGamer).

"I was asleep," recounted the streamer in a video posted after the experience. "And these policemen came in the door… and the cop walked me out, and I didn't know what was going on." In a photo from the streamer's Ring doorbell camera, three armoured police officers can be seen standing around her door.

Although swatting—the act of placing a fake 911 call in order to get police to dispatch armed SWAT officers to someone's home—is a monumentally nasty and dangerous practice which can result in people getting killed, GrammaCrackers is relatively phlegmatic about her experience. "It was kind of fun. It was!" said the streamer.

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"My grandkid and my kid, they were hugging me—you know, you can't get that much attention normally. I was getting all kinds of hugs, I was really eating it up! It was kind of fun."

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Per the recollection of GrammaCrackers' family, the police arrived in full force, with 20 police cars, five SWAT vehicles, and drones flying over her house. "I have never had that much attention in my life," laughed the streamer.

Which is, you have to admit, a very charming and funny response to the situation, but it's worth remembering how easily the whole thing could have resulted in a horrible tragedy, as these things have before. GrammaCrackers continues to stream, and is live (though away from her keyboard), at the time of writing.

Joshua Wolens
News Writer

One of Josh's first memories is of playing Quake 2 on the family computer when he was much too young to be doing that, and he's been irreparably game-brained ever since. His writing has been featured in Vice, Fanbyte, and the Financial Times. He'll play pretty much anything, and has written far too much on everything from visual novels to Assassin's Creed. His most profound loves are for CRPGs, immersive sims, and any game whose ambition outstrips its budget. He thinks you're all far too mean about Deus Ex: Invisible War.

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