Tennessee Grandpa Dies Of Heart Attack After Trolls 'Swatted' His Twitter Handle

Last year, a Tennessee man died after receiving a "swatting" call from someone who asked him to give up his Twitter handle.

The Twitter handle @Tennessee was owned by Mark Herring, 60. An online tabloid said he adopted the account while Twitter was in its infancy because he liked his home state and the Tennessee Volunteers.

Herring has turned down numerous proposals to sell the Twitter name over the years. A potential buyer can become irritated if he is refused to sell.

Things took a tragic turn on April 27, 2020.

Herring's relatives began receiving pizza delivery that they had not requested, according to WKRN-TV. Herring's ex-wife and two daughters each received many pizzas, all of which were paid for with cash on delivery. They became concerned and attempted to contact Herring, but received no response.

Herring's live-in girlfriend got through Herring's son-in-law. "She said, 'everything is not OK. I'm in the back of a cop car. I got to go,'" Gary Hooge tells WKRN.

Herring's number had been called by police, saying that Herring had slain a woman on the property. Officers arrived at the scene with their weapons drawn. On Herring's porch, they confronted him and ordered that he raise his hands. Herring suffered a huge and deadly heart attack at that point.

Herring's Twitter handle had been demanded by two people, the family learnt shortly after. When he declined, the people allegedly used coercion to force him to sell.

According to police, the events of April 27, 2020 were allegedly perpetrated by two minors, one from Tennessee and the other from the United Kingdom. Since turning 18, the American minor has been charged as an adult. Because the suspected British co-conspirator is still a minor, he will not be extradited to the US.

Shane Sonderman pleaded guilty to wire fraud/conspiracy, interstate communication of threats, false information and hoaxes, and conspiracy in March, per the documents filed in Western Tennessee District Court. Sonderman allegedly had six more victims across the country, according to the charging paperwork. Herring was the only one that died.

The court filing pointed out that "as part of the harassment campaign, defendant Sonderman and his coconspirators would place calls to emergency service dispatchers or 911 dispatchers, claiming that an emergency was in progress at the residence of the owner of the desired" social media handle.

Swatting, according to Cloudflare, is the act of inducing an emergency law enforcement response against a target victim based on false information. Swatters can do this by calling 911 and falsely reporting a violent emergency situation, sometimes imitating the victim's phone number.