Swatting may be a fairly common (and terrible) practice nowadays, but reverse swatting is something entirely new. In fact, it may have just been invented by one gamer in Texas whose quick-thinking and action could have saved the life of her teammate. What makes this story particularly fascinating is the fact that the teammate wasn’t in Texas, or even in the US. In fact, they were half a world away in the UK.
As reported by BBC and Sky News, 21-year-old gamer Dia Lathora leapt into action when she suspected her teammate, Aidan Jackson was in need of medical help.
Despite being in Texas, Lathora managed to get in touch with the relevant authorities in Widnes, northwestern English, to get them to 17-year-old Jackson’s home.
It’s believed the teenager was having some form of seizure, unheard by his parents due to having been playing online in his bedroom with the door shut.
Jackson later told Sky News that he’d “felt a little funny,”and had turned his chat microphone toward his bed so he could talk to Lathora while laying down. He became unresponsive, which is when Lathora called the authorities.
Aidan’s mum, Caroline Jackson, 48, told the BBC: “We were at home watching TV and Aidan was upstairs in his room. The next thing we noticed was two police cars outside with flashing lights.
“I assumed they were in the area for another reason and then they ran up to the front door.
“They said there was an unresponsive male at the address. We said we hadn’t called anyone and they said a call had come from America. I immediately went to check on Aidan and found him extremely disorientated.”
She later expressed the family’s gratitude to Lathora, telling the Liverpool Echo: “We can’t thank Dia and the emergency services enough for what they did, considering the 4,750 miles between Dia and Aidan.”
After being taken to hospital for tests, Jackson returned back to his home later that same day – all thanks to Lathora.
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