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Gamer Uses Xbox to Help Alert Police to Home Invasion

By Cynthia Hsu, Esq. on December 08, 2011 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

This holiday season, consider giving your loved ones the gift of an Xbox. Not only does it provide endless hours of entertainment, but the Xbox can also help alert police if you're ever getting robbed.

This feature isn't exactly advertised with the console, mind you. It's just a fortunate side effect of the system's online gaming feature.

One Pittsburgh man was on his Xbox when he heard his back door getting kicked in. Two men, wearing half-masks, entered. The gamer, who was playing online, alerted his online opponent that his home was being broken into. He asked his opponent to call 911.

Clearly, there are unspoken benefits to playing online games.

For those unfamiliar with the way that online gaming works, here's a quick rundown. Gamers who play online typically play with friends or internet acquaintances. In order to formulate the best gaming strategy, audio headsets are often used. That's why it was so easy for the Pittsburgh man to alert his online opponent of the break-in.

Police arrived on scene shortly after. Without the Xbox's assistance, it may have taken them much longer to respond.

Unfortunately, it was a little too late. The intruders were gone, and the victim suffered injuries after being pistol whipped. Cash was stolen out of the home, and the men also threatened a woman upstairs who was trying to get help. No arrests have been made.

The burglars will likely face burglary charges. Burglary is the breaking and entering of a dwelling with the intent to commit a crime. It seems likely that the men intended to steal property.

This is why if you're in the midst of playing on your console and you hear your door getting kicked in, it's all too easy to simply tell your online cohort that you're about to be robbed. Using your Xbox to help alert police can help thwart crimes.

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