LA Police Make Arrest in Tragic Hoax Case that Led to Swatting Death

The Los Angeles Police Department has arrested 25-year-old Tyler Barriss as part of the investigation into the shooting death of a Kansas man, Andrew Finch. Finch was the innocent victim of a “swatting” prank where a false 9-1-1 call was allegedly made by Barriss.

The officer, a 7-year police department veteran, who shot Finch is on administrative leave, a typical practice in fatal shooting cases.

There are a few more details as being reported by the Washington Post:

The 9-1-1 caller told the operator that he had shot his father and was holding the rest of his family hostage and was going to set the house on fire. Then, oddly, he asked, “Do you have my address correct?”

A man emerged from the house after police arrived. Livingston said police officers repeatedly told him to put his hands up, and one shot when he believed the man was reaching for a weapon. Police said the man was not armed.

On further investigation, officers found no one inside the house had been shot, nor had anyone been taken hostage. All family members were handcuffed and taken into custody for questioning.

“The police said, ‘Come out with your hands up,’ ” Lisa Finch told the Eagle. “[The officer] took me, my roommate and my granddaughter, who witnessed the shooting and had to step over her dying uncle’s body.”

Barriss has been in trouble for similar incidents in the past, including an October 2015 arrest for calling in a false bomb threat to a local television statement.

Here is our original coverage:

The Kansas City Police Department received a 9-1-1 call alleging that a family was being held hostage after the father had been killed by an intruder. When the SWAT team arrived and a man, Andrew Finch, answered the door, an officer shot him. He died not long after in a local hospital. He leaves behind two children aged 2 and 7. The officer who shot Finch has been placed on administrative leave until the completion of the investigation.

However, this comes with a tragic twist: The man killed was not involved in the dispute between the CoD players. The player who was the “target” of the offended player had provided the latter with a false address that led the police to Finch’s home.