The ABQ Journal is reporting that Gavin Free and Meg Turney recently survived a home invasion by an armed suspect. Police reported that the break-in occurred as a result of a fans fondness for Turney. The suspect broke into the Austin,TX residence with the intent to kill both out of jealousy.
The suspect, Christopher Giles, was shot dead by police after he was unable to find the couple in their home in late January. Free and Turney managed to evade him by hiding in their closet and calling 911.
Giles was described as lonely and disturbed. His house has since been searched and his assets seized, including his laptops and Xbox One. Threatening recordings have also been found, confirming that the attempted homicide had been planned for some time.
Gavin Free and Meg Turney are best known for their careers as social media influencers. Both got their start, and met, while employees at Rooster Teeth. Turney has since left to start her own Youtube channel, currently sitting at 300,000 subscribers, while Free is currently still a big part of the company.
Free also founded another successful Youtube channel years ago. Slow-Mo Guys focuses on filming unique events in slow motion (explosions, eruptions, collisions). The channel also has an educational aspect to it, as Free and co-host Daniel Gruchy often explain the science behind each experiment. As of now, The Slow Mo Guys has over 10 Million subscribers.
Neither Free, Turney or Rooster Teeth have made a statement regarding the incident at this time. While that is usually normal, its a considerably big deal since both of their careers revolve around talking about things that occur to them during their everyday lives.
For more information, be sure to check back to The Nerd Stash for updates, as well as all of your other nerdy news and needs.
Update: Below is a transcription from the most recent Rooster Teeth podcast in which the the events are discussed.
Burnie: Before we go, there is one other thing we want to talk about. We know that some of you have probably read reports, in newspapers or online, about an armed intruder that broke into Gavin’s house. And, we didn’t talk about this previously on the podcast because obviously it’s a very difficult subject to talk about. Gavin, is there anything you want to say about this?
Gavin: Uh, just a massive thanks for all the support online. It was a very unpleasant time. And also a big thanks to the Austin Police Department for an insanely fast response time.
Burnie: Very fast, 4 minutes, right?
Gavin: yeah, yeah.
Burnie: Alright,well obviously this is also a difficult topic to end the podcast on, but Gavin, we just want to say: we love you and Meg very much, and we’re happy that you’re safe and we’re grateful that you’re safe.