Two Twitch streamers captured the terrifying moment a drive-by shooting happened right next door to them during a live broadcast that left viewers shocked.
Twitch hosts a variety of broadcasts for all kinds of content. Whether it be influencers playing the latest AAA video game, someone cooking up a new recipe in their kitchen, or jet-setters sharing their travels abroad, there’s something for everyone on the purple streaming platform.
However, a couple playing ‘Cult of the Lamb‘ got more than they bargained for when their humorous broadcast of the adorable game turned into a terrifying brush with danger.
The incident took place during an October 14 stream on ‘TheGorilla Radio Show,’ a Twitch channel / podcast generally dedicated to all things related to primates and primatology.
There was no monkeying around during this particular broadcast, though. Midway through the stream, a series of loud bangs could be heard, prompting an ‘Oh my god!’ from one of the streamers in a Discord call.
The streamer claimed that the loud sounds were actually gunshots from a possible drive-by shooting “outside in our street,” something she elaborated on in an exclusive statement to Dexerto.
Twitch streamers “paralyzed by fear” as drive-by shooting happens during live broadcast
Both she and her boyfriend, Austin (who was streaming the incident), live in Chicago, and are “no stranger to distant gunshots” — but the two have “never heard them so close before.”
“They were very distinct and easily recognizable as gunshots, which might be why I was so quick to react the way I did,” she said of the ordeal. “I heard the first few shots and immediately recognized what was going on, but of course, in shock and riding a high of adrenaline, the only thing I could do is give short responses as to what was going on. I was pretty paralyzed by fear in that moment as everything escalated.”
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“What was not easily heard in the clip was that the final shots were accompanied by tires screeching from someone driving away. Part of what was so scary is that, despite us not really being your prototypical deliberate victims of a drive-by shooting, they’re not exactly known for their accuracy, so you never know who is being targeted and where those bullets are going to end up.”
“The moments and hours afterward were very eerily quiet and there were no police or paramedics on the scene. No one went outside until the following day. Whatever prompted this appears to remain unknown by the community.”
there was a fucking drive by shooting outside my apartment while i was streaming on twitch and everybody could hear it pic.twitter.com/7sznqwQgiX
— ape attack survivor (@pissvortex) October 15, 2022
In another statement, Austin said he “heard no sirens after the fact but we were pretty positive that they were gunshots. There was nobody reported to be dead or injured on the news, thankfully.”
Austin also claimed that “there were probably around 30 or less people watching at the time of the incident, and everyone was sort of startled and put off” by the sudden gunshots, prompting him to end the broadcast shortly afterward.
Luckily, both streamers are safe, although no news regarding the shooting has popped up in their area at the time of writing.
Austin shouted out the Gorilla Radio Show’s community members in wake of the terrifying stream, thanking them for helping make their logo and donating to charitable causes on their Patreon.
This is just the latest gun violence to happen live on Twitch; this August, streamer ‘Dankol83’ was left horrified after gunshots rang out right outside of his streaming booth during a broadcast. In 2018, another streamer dove to the floor after a drive-by shooting happened outside her home.