As “Damn Daniel” continues to go viral, the teen who posted the original video was the victim of swatting early Tuesday morning at his family’s Riverside home.
Police received a call that someone at a residence on Hamilton Drive had shot their mother with an AK-47. Authorities responded about 1 a.m, searched the home, and determined it was a false report, reports ABC 7.
Riverside police Lt. Kevin Townsend says that they have had to deal with a few swatting hoaxes – that are usually spurred by revenge.
“They tend to be, for us, revenge in some way. Once we’re able to track down who made the call, it’s someone trying to get back at someone, whether it be an ex or something like that but that’s what it seems like — exes or teenagers,” Townsend told ABC 7.
The “Damn Daniel” video (seen below), has been retweeted more than 290,000 times and liked more than 370,000 times on Twitter.
Damn Daniel pic.twitter.com/Va10hmpePO
— Josh (@Josholzz) February 16, 2016
“We believe and the family believes that since their video went viral, it’s somehow connected. Ever since their video has gone out there, they’ve received a number of what they call strange phone calls and emails, and a lot of strange things happening so tonight was just another incident for their family,” Townsend said.
Calling in a hoax call to police is a misdemeanor that can carry a sentence of up to a year in prison.
