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> The officers were acting under the impression the man they saw was an unhinged person who just shot their own father. In this case if you saw them reaching fo

> The officers were acting under the impression the man they saw was an unhinged person who just shot their own father. In this case if you saw them reaching for what could possibly be a firearm many people would likely react in a similar manner. Our survival instincts are incredibly strong. Wow! That’s scary, I thought SWAT was trained to assess the situation to be able to react accordingly. Now I’m afraid to visit the US in fear that the police will kill me just because I look suspicious. I didn’t know they were so afraid to the point of firing their guns in fear of being hurt.

maccio92 8y ago
Did you not read the context of the article? The "swatter" called the police and told them he had killed "his" father and was armed and dangerous. They were showing up to the scene with that context... It's not remotely the same as you being a random visitor in the country. Don't be ridiculous.
- smileysteve 8y ago
  > It's not remotely the same as you being a random visitor Only if op stays in a residence (AirBnb, vrbo, friend's house) that could be confused with somebody playing a video game. > Don't be ridiculous. Unless some other person who may or may not even be in the country (U.S. caller id authentication and e911 systems are lacking) can provide a fiction that would wind up with the poster in the middle. That the police trust a system with such flaws to an extent that they are willing to kill for it is troublesome. Importantly, the man killed was not the intended target; The swatter effectively pressed pandora's button. In a non swatting situation, this happened to a family staying in Georgia. An informant fingered a house for a drug dealer, and the police shot a flash-bang through the AirBnb's window right into a baby's crib, causing severe burns and other health concerns. https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/attorney-child-hurt-swat-raid-looks-us-attorney-in/137264875 https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/attorney-child-hurt-swat-ra...
dang 8y ago
Please don't troll here or take threads further into flamewar. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- guessmyname 8y ago
  Thank you Dang, I’ve read the Hacker News Guidelines multiple times in all these years I’ve been visiting this website. As a non-native English speaker, I’m not sure what exactly in my comment above is considered “trolling” or “flamewar”. I’m legitimately scared that if I visit the US I will be a target and SWAT will not be careful enough to assess the situation, and instead will decide to kill me based on false information. You have commented —many times— that repetitive comments like this in the website will get a user’s account banned, so from now on I will be extra careful with my comments as to not offend someone that may end up affecting my presence in the community. Thank you for the advice.
  - dang 8y ago
    Moderation is pattern-matching. Your comments, to my reading, matched the style of a particular kind of ultra-sincere-sounding concern troll. If I got that wrong, that was a bad guess and I'm very sorry. In case it helps, I took a quick look and your other recent comments seem fine.

maccio92 8y ago

Did you not read the context of the article? The "swatter" called the police and told them he had killed "his" father and was armed and dangerous. They were showing up to the scene with that context... It's not remotely the same as you being a random visitor in the country. Don't be ridiculous.

smileysteve 8y ago
> It's not remotely the same as you being a random visitor Only if op stays in a residence (AirBnb, vrbo, friend's house) that could be confused with somebody playing a video game. > Don't be ridiculous. Unless some other person who may or may not even be in the country (U.S. caller id authentication and e911 systems are lacking) can provide a fiction that would wind up with the poster in the middle. That the police trust a system with such flaws to an extent that they are willing to kill for it is troublesome. Importantly, the man killed was not the intended target; The swatter effectively pressed pandora's button. In a non swatting situation, this happened to a family staying in Georgia. An informant fingered a house for a drug dealer, and the police shot a flash-bang through the AirBnb's window right into a baby's crib, causing severe burns and other health concerns. https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/attorney-child-hurt-swat-raid-looks-us-attorney-in/137264875 https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/attorney-child-hurt-swat-ra...

dang 8y ago

Please don't troll here or take threads further into flamewar. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

guessmyname 8y ago
Thank you Dang, I’ve read the Hacker News Guidelines multiple times in all these years I’ve been visiting this website. As a non-native English speaker, I’m not sure what exactly in my comment above is considered “trolling” or “flamewar”. I’m legitimately scared that if I visit the US I will be a target and SWAT will not be careful enough to assess the situation, and instead will decide to kill me based on false information. You have commented —many times— that repetitive comments like this in the website will get a user’s account banned, so from now on I will be extra careful with my comments as to not offend someone that may end up affecting my presence in the community. Thank you for the advice.
- dang 8y ago
  Moderation is pattern-matching. Your comments, to my reading, matched the style of a particular kind of ultra-sincere-sounding concern troll. If I got that wrong, that was a bad guess and I'm very sorry. In case it helps, I took a quick look and your other recent comments seem fine.