Gamer struck by lightning while livestreaming in North Carolina
The streamer felt a jolt through his earbuds during a lightning strike—raising awareness of how indoor lightning injuries can happen.
A North Carolina gamer who was struck by lightning while streaming on July 19, 2025, recounts his experience to AccuWeather.
A North Carolina gamer known online as Chrispymate was livestreaming on Twitch on July 19 when a bolt of lightning struck outside his Holly Springs home and sent an electrical surge straight through his gaming setup.
The moment, captured on video, shows the entire screen flash white as a thunderous crack cuts through the audio. In a split second, Chrispymate leapt from his chair, yanked off his headphones and bolted off camera.
The second the lightning struck, lighting up the room around Chrispymate.
The streamer told AccuWeather the strike happened around 9:00 p.m. EDT. “Bro, I just got struck by lightning,” he gasped before stopping his stream. Despite the shock, he was able to return to stream and assured viewers he was okay. "So I was sitting in here, I had my earbuds in. A big thing of lightning hit...I felt lightning go through my ear buds and I bolted up the stairs. Oh my God, dude!"
While it might sound rare or even impossible, lightning experts say this kind of indoor strike isn’t just possible, it’s preventable.
Lightning strikes between 8:10 and 9:40 p.m. on the evening of July 19, 2025, with the location of Holly Springs noted.
Lightning can enter homes through wiring and plumbing, and any device plugged into a wall becomes a potential danger point during a storm. That includes phones, earbuds, computers and gaming consoles, according to John Jensenius of the National Lightning Safety Council.
“Cell phones are safe as long as they’re not plugged into the wall,” Jensenius told AccuWeather in a previous interview. “But if you’re charging your device and holding it when lightning strikes, you’re part of the electrical system and that puts you at risk.”
The AccuWeather Lightning Network detected 629 lightning strikes within a 20-mile radius of Holly Springs between 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. that night.
Lightning strikes near Holly Springs, North Carolina between 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. on July 19th, 2025. Negative strikes are indicated by (-), positive by (+), and cloud-to-cloud by no marker. (AccuWeather Lightning Network)
A similar case occurred earlier this month when a 19-year-old Alabama woman was struck while scrolling her plugged-in phone during a storm. She described a jolt shooting up her arm and was told by doctors she was lucky it didn’t reach her heart.
Jensenius says most people are surprised to learn that indoor lightning injuries often result from contact with wired electronics, running water or metal-framed windows. Even non-metal pipes can conduct electricity through the water itself, as was the case when lightning exploded a shower in Florida.
While the odds of being struck by lightning in any given year are about 1 in 1.6 million, according to the National Lightning Safety Council, most lightning-related injuries and deaths are preventable, experts say. “The key is planning ahead,” Jensenius said.
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