On December 28, Andrew Finch was shot and killed in Wichita, Kansas due to a hoax that went too far. Swatting is the act of calling in hostage situations and other threats on people and is–as much as I hate to say it–popular with some of the seedier sides of the gaming community. In this case, Tyler Barriss called in a false murder and hostage situation to a random address in Wichita over a Call of Duty match that he wasn’t even a part of. He was contacted by one player, who had gotten an incorrect address from the other player.
Barriss called in the hoax to Wichita police which resulted in an innocent and unarmed man being killed by police officers when they arrived and he answered the door. Barriss was arrested the following day. Now he may face felony charges for the wrongful death. The warrant filed in Kansas says that Barriss is charged with raising a false alarm, which is a felony that carries a penalty of up to 34 months in prison, though the state may decide to file additional charges after reviewing the case. The most serious charge he could be brought up on would be second degree murder, which carries a 20 year sentence. If they settle for involuntary manslaughter, that could result in a maximum prison time of about 10 years. Barriss is being extradited from Los Angeles where he resides, to Kansas. The Kansas authorities must pick up Barriss by February 2.
Barriss is no stranger to the prison system or calling in false threats. In 2015, he calle...