'Call of Duty'-Related Swatting Prankster Charged With Involuntary Manslaughter Following Death of Wichita Man
The suspect in a fatal "Call of Duty" swatting prank was recently charged with involuntary manslaughter.
The Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office in the state of Kansas charged 25-year-old Los Angeles resident Tyler Raj Barriss with involuntary manslaughter on Friday. The court has set the suspect's bond at $500,000.
After hearing the charges against him, according to Glixel, the court set the date for when Barriss would be assigned a defense attorney for his upcoming arraignment where he would declare if he pleaded guilty or not of the charges. The arraignment will take place later this month.
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Swatting refers to a type of prank where a person hysterically calls the police requesting for assistance where the nature of the call implies that heavy guns are needed on the scene to restrain a suspect. However, another person's address is given, and the prankster's goal is to cause panic and trouble to him/her.
Barriss' alleged swatting call that was made to Kansas law enforcement officers was reportedly caused by an argument over a bet related to the video game "Call of Duty: WWII."
In the fake emergency call which he made from Los Angeles, the suspect reportedly told police that there was an ongoing homicide and hostage situation taking place and provided the address of the person he had gotten into an argument with. However, what he did not know was that the latter had given him and two others a false address, which turned out to be the residence of the victim, a man named Andrew Finch. Finch was reportedly not connected to the argument.
When the police arrived at Finch's home, he was reportedly ordered to raise his hands, which he did. However, he later lowered his hands a bit, and police assumed he was reaching for a weapon and shot him first. Finch did not have weapons on his body at the time
KWCH12 was able to interview Barriss on Friday from jail where the suspect said (via Reuters): "I feel remorse for what happened. I never intended for anyone to get shot and killed."
When asked what prompted him to make such calls, Barriss reportedly said that some people were actually "sending money to have that done." In 2014, a similar prank had targeted him and his grandmother.
Last week, Calgary police also charged Barriss with mischief and fraud involving another swatting call that was made last Dec. 22 where he allegedly reported a hoax shooting incident. Armed policemen then surrounded an innocent woman's apartment to response to the call, The Globe and Mail reported. Luckily, no one was shot or killed in the Calgary incident.
