Twitch streamer suspended after accidentally shooting real gun at his computer
'I ruined the rest of my life,' says Carl Riemer
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A professional gamer has been suspended from Twitch and dropped from his eSports team after accidentally shooting a gun at his computer during a live stream.
Carl Riemer, a popular Call of Duty streamer who plays under the handle SoarCarl, brandished the weapon in front of his viewers while apparently drunk.
"B***h say I ain't got money," he said, before discharging the weapon. "What the f***? I swear to god I just emptied the mag."
Shortly after the incident Twitch suspended his account and blocked all of his content.
The platform's guidelines state it has a zero-tolerance policy towards streamers using "weapons to physically threaten, intimidate, harm, or kill others".
Mr Riemer explained the fall-out from his mistake in a video posted to YouTube the next day, which he titled 'I got suspended from Twitch, don't do what I did'.
"Last night, I possibly ruined the rest of my life and years of hard work. Last night I was being stupid on my stream, as I normally am... I was clearly intoxicated but the fact of the matter is, whether I was sober or intoxicated, guns are not a toy," he said.
The bullet passed through a metal cup and deflected onto his computer, destroying a $1,000 monitor.
"I have no idea if I'm ever going to be able to come back to Twitch, I just made such a stupid, stupid, stupid mistake," he said. "All I can say is I'm sorry and I deserve everything, every bit of backlash."
The SoaRGaming eSports team announced that it had dropped Mr Reimer shortly after the Twitch ban.
"We do not condone the actions on livestream by Carl last night," the team wrote on Twitter. "He has been removed from the SoaR Gaming roster effective immediately."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments