Rust player paralyzed after swatting demands $176 million from police

23-year-old Axeel Melendez from Tucson has filed a $176 million lawsuit against local law enforcement. The case stems from an incident in April, when officers responding to a false call shot him in the leg and spine during a raid.

Melendez will likely remain paralyzed from the waist down for the rest of his life.

The story began when another Rust player hacked Axeel computer and gained access to his personal data. The hacker demanded money under threat of leaking the information, then promised to arrange a swatting after Melendez refused to pay. Melendez called 911 himself two days before the incident to warn police about the threat.

The dispatcher reassured him and said no one could simply send a SWAT team to his address. An officer even came to his home in person and confirmed that colleagues had been informed about possible false alarms there. Despite that, two days later police responded to a false call claiming that Axeel father had shot his sister.

Bodycam footage shows officers identifying themselves outside the house and, getting no response, smashing the bedroom window with a shovel. Melendez was wearing noise-cancelling headphones while gaming at the time and didn't hear any knocking or shouting outside. He only realized someone was breaking in when the glass shattered.

He ran to wake his mother, then grabbed the family's legally registered hunting rifle. When officers spotted the barrel of the weapon poking out from behind a door, they opened fire immediately.

The hacker threats didn't stop at swatting.

They knew what my ancestry was and said they would call ICE so that my entire family would be deported. We are all American citizens, so that wouldn't make any sense.

The attacker also threatened to bring in the FBI by claiming there was a bomb in the house.

Before the shooting, Axeel was building a career in automotive engineering. He also enjoyed football, board games, and outdoor activities – all things that are now largely out of reach for him.

My goal was to gain experience with high-performance cars and then continue my studies in automotive engineering. Ultimately, I really wanted to work for a Formula 1 team.

Local police said they won't offer any substantive comment on the lawsuit while it's ongoing.

Swatting remains a serious problem in the gaming community. Streamers and public figures in gaming have fallen victim to these false calls all over the world. Grand Theft Auto V voice actor Ned Luke has been swatted multiple times and recently revealed that one of the people responsible received an actual prison sentence.