Swatting Hoax Leads Cops To Kill Innocent Man: Listen To 911 Call

WICHITA, KS – Police in Los Angeles have arrested a 25-year-old man they say was behind a "swatting" prank that led officers in Wichita to kill an innocent man. Tyler Raj Barriss was arrested on suspicion of having made the call that led police to the house of Andrew Finch.

Wichita authorities said at a news conference Friday that the suspect called city hall at about 6:15 p.m. Thursday claiming he had fatally shot his father in the head, was holding other members of the family hostage and planned to set the house on fire. He provided Finch's address.

Not realizing the call was a hoax, police arrived at Finch's his home, thinking they were dealing with a homicide and hostage situation.

When Finch went outside to see what was going on, police told him to keep his hands in the air. Soon after, an officer believed he was reaching for a gun and fired a shot, killing him, Wichita police officials said.

The prank is known as "swatting" because it involves getting police to send "SWAT" teams to someone's home. While the number of incidents has risen in recent years — the FBI estimates there are 400 swatting incidents each year — this is believed to be the first to result in a fatal shooting.

Wichita Deputy Police Chief Troy Livingston said at the news conference police responded based on the information in the prank call, which Livingston said was made as part of a dispute over an online game known as "Call of Duty." Finch's family said he was not a gamer and police said he was not the intended target.

"The irresponsible actions of a prankster put people’s lives at risk," Livingston said. "The incident is a nightmare for everyone involved."

At the news conference, police released audio of the 911 call and video from the incident.

A man with the same name and birthdate as Barriss was arrested two years ago by police in Glendale for calling in a bomb threat to KABC in Los Angeles. No bomb was ever found.

File photo courtesy Wichita Police