Twitch Creators Alert Fellow Women After ‘Stalker’ Issues Death Threats During Live Stream | US News
Three creators from Twitch have issued a caution to their peers on the platform after a “stalker” followed and subsequently threatened to kill them during a live stream.
Cinna, Valkyrae, and Emiru, collectively boasting over 3.6 million Twitch followers, were participating in a week-long streaming event dubbed “Sisathon” on Sunday night.
The livestream captured them walking towards Pacific Park on Santa Monica Pier in California when a man in a grey hoodie approached them, introducing himself as Russell.
After asking for a photo, Cinna, 28, responded, “Yeah, of course.”
The man then requested to “hang out” with them, but Brittany Lynn Watts, known as Cinna, explained that they couldn’t as they were on a “time limit.”
The group continued towards the amusement park, at which point the man appeared to take off in the opposite direction.
However, roughly 20 minutes later, the livestream recorded a moment where the women walked past the same individual, now dressed differently, as he crouched beside one of the rides.
The Twitch streamers visibly showed concern as the man asked Emiru, whose real name is Emily Schunk, for her phone number.
The 27-year-old quickly replied that she didn’t have a phone, to which the man stated, “I’m going to keep following her (Emiru).”
The women promptly moved away, becoming frightened when he caught up with them minutes later.
As the man remained off-camera, Cinna exclaimed, “get away from her” and positioned herself between him and Emiru.
Valkyrae, whose real name is Rachell Marie Hofstetter, began calling for security as the women screamed while the man ran towards them, yelling, “I’ll kill you right now, I’ll kill you right now.”
The Twitch streamers made a hurried exit from the park before the stream cut out.
In a separate video posted on Cinna’s Twitch account on Monday, Cinna and Valkyrae elaborated on their frightening experience.
Cinna expressed to her followers: “We are very much in shock and we need you guys to know that clip does not capture how terrifying it was.”
She reassured that Emiru is “safe” but requires time to “process it and stuff”.
“This is an attempt on our lives and we take it very seriously,” Cinna conveyed to her audience.
She further stated: “He threatened to kill us, repeatedly reaching into his pocket. We had to run into a store screaming that someone was attempting to kill us.”
Cinna added: “For those who may not know, we are aware he is a stalker. He was behind us and pulled up Emily’s TikToks.”
Valkyrae shared on X following the incident that they were “okay” and had been in contact with the police.
She also criticized individuals who accused the women of staging the event.
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Valkyrae shared on X, “I hope that other women and streamers learn from witnessing this interaction and are aware that such situations can occur to anyone.”
Additionally, Emiru remarked in a post on X on Monday: “I wish I could say this was some rare incident, but unfortunately, it’s not. This is the reality for women. I hope that people will see what occurred and recognize how prevalent this issue is for women and content creators overall.”
Santa Monica Police reportedly conducted a search for the suspect but were unable to locate him.
The police department has stated that they are “aware of the video footage” and are “reviewing the information that has been shared publicly.”
Sky News has reached out to Santa Monica Police for further comment.