LA Man Arrested In Deadly Swatting Call In Kansas
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — A Los Angeles man accused of making a prank call that led to a deadly police shooting in Kansas is in jail.
The LAPD arrested 25-year-old Tyler Barriss Friday.
Barriss, who was convicted of making false bomb threats that evacuated KABC-TV in Glendale in 2016, is accused of calling 911 and claiming he shot his father at their home in Wichita. Police sent a SWAT team to the house Thursday night, when the deadly shooting happened.
Investigators believe Barriss made the hoax call after a video game dispute.
"We believe this incident was a case of swatting, which the act of deceiving emergency services into sending a police response to another person's address," Wichita Police Dept. Deputy Chief Troy Livingston said.
The deceased man is 28-year-old Andrew Finch. His mother says her son was not a gamer and is stunned police fatally shot him after they say he reached for his waistband.
"I am not letting go until I have justice," she said.
The officer who shot the victim, a seven-and-a-half-year veteran, is on paid leave.
On Saturday, FBI KC and FBI LA issued the following statement:
"The FBI assisted police in Wichita and Los Angeles in locating Barriss yesterday. Barriss served time after being charged by state authorities in Los Angeles for making threats and was released earlier this year. The FBI will continue to assist police as requested going forward."