Streamer suspended from Twitch after accidentally firing a gun on stream

(Image credit: Carl Riemer)

Call of Duty streamer Carl Riemer has landed in trouble after accidentally discharging a handgun during a livestream last night. Nobody was hurt in the incident, but Riemer's Twitch account was suspended and he's been removed from the roster of esports org Soar Gaming.

Riemer's troubles began when he picked up a gun and challenged an unknown individual to "say I ain't got money," while simultaneously racking the slide twice. And then, apparently believing the gun to be unloaded, he pulls the trigger and murders the hell out of a can of G-Fuel.

Twitter user @cam834 captured the moment for posterity:

In an apology video posted to YouTube, Riemer said that he was "clearly intoxicated" during the stream, but acknowledged that regardless of his state of mind, guns are not toys and should not be treated as such. He also said that Soar acted appropriately by releasing him, and seemed to appreciate how lucky he was that no real harm was done: "It was a stupid mistake, but it's a mistake that could have cost somebody their life," he says in the video.

Later on in the video, Riemer also shares a little bit of introspective internal monologue. "You can entertain people without fucking doing something so stupid, Carl. You know. I could've just held a finger gun, dude. Why the fuck do I need to pull out a Glock on stream? It's okay to have a gun on stream, but it's not okay to discharge it, you know? This shit ain't—it's funny, but it's not. It was content, but it's not okay."

He's sure right about that. Riemer said he doesn't know when, or even if, he'll be allowed back on Twitch.

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

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