Man Behind Fatal Swatting Prank in Kansas Gets 20 Years in Prison
NO JOKE
The U.S. Attorney for Kansas said the sentence was “by far the longest” imposed for swatting.
Pool/Reuters
A California man who made a fake emergency call that led to the “swatting” death of a Kansas man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison, CNN reports. Tyler Raj Barriss pleaded guilty to making a false report resulting in the death of 28-year-old Andrew Finch and other calls that did not lead to any other deaths or injuries. Barriss reportedly called Wichita police in December 2017 claiming that a hostage situation involving a gun was happening at Finch’s residence, which resulted in police arriving and shooting Finch—who later died at the hospital. The incident reportedly stemmed from an argument one of Barriss’ co-defendants got into with Finch while they were playing a video game. Barriss also reportedly made bomb threats to the Federal Communications Commission’s Washington D.C. office. “Swatting is no prank,” Stephen McAllister, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Kansas, said at a press conference. “Sending police and emergency responders rushing to anyone’s home based on utterly false information as some kind of joke shows an incredible disregard for the safety of other people.” McAllister also said Barriss’ sentence was “by far the longest prison sentence” for swatting imposed so far in the U.S.
