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2017 Wichita swatting
On December 28, 2017, a fatal swatting incident occurred in Wichita, Kansas, United States. During an online dispute between Casey Viner and Shane Gaskill regarding the video game Call of Duty: WWII, Viner threatened to have Gaskill swatted. Gaskill responded by giving him a false address for his residence, one that was occupied by an uninvolved person, Andrew Finch. Viner then asked Tyler Barriss, an anonymous online swatter, to make the required fraudulent call to initiate the swatting. Wichita Police responded to the address, and as Finch was exiting his house, police officer Justin Rapp fatally shot him.
Barriss pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter and many other charges from unrelated incidents for which he was wanted. In March 2019, Barriss was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. Viner was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment and two years supervised release for his involvement, while Gaskill was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment. Rapp was not charged for Finch's death.
At the time of the incident, Tyler Rai Barriss was a 25-year-old homeless man living in Los Angeles, California. Known online as "SWAuTistic", he had a criminal record including domestic violence, and had served 16 months in Los Angeles County Jail for making false bomb threats against KABC-TV, an elementary school in Los Angeles, and a middle school in Granada Hills. He was wanted by police in Panama City, Florida, for calling approximately 30 other bomb threats, including one to a high school, and on fraud and mischief charges in Canada for harassing a woman in Calgary.
Reports surfaced that the series of events began with an online argument over a $1.50 wager in an online match of Call of Duty: WWII on UMG Gaming, which operates online video game tournaments. Two men, Casey Viner (known by the pseudonym Baperizer) and Shane Gaskill (known by pseudonym Miruhcle), fought over friendly fire in the match, causing them to lose both the match and $1.50 in wagers. The two gamers took to Twitter in an argument about the loss.
Viner threatened to swat Gaskill over the loss. Gaskill intentionally gave Viner the wrong address, a location in Wichita where he previously resided with his family, and where he said he would "be waiting". Gaskill's family had been evicted from the address in 2016. Viner then contacted Barriss and provided him with the address given to swat Gaskill. Andrew Finch, the resident of the given address, was not a known gamer and had nothing to do with the Call of Duty match.
Using voice over IP through the free Wi-Fi provided by a South Los Angeles library, Barriss called the Wichita Police Department. Because the call was transferred from Wichita City Hall to 911, the dispatcher believed the call was coming from the Wichita area. Barriss, identifying himself as "Brian", claimed that he was at the residence at 1033 West McCormick Street, had fatally shot his father, and was holding family members at gunpoint. He asked if police were coming to the house, saying he had already poured gasoline all over the house and was threatening to set it on fire.
Wichita Police Department officers, who were not SWAT team members and were not trained for tactical situations or hostage rescues, responded to Barriss' call and surrounded Finch's residence. Andrew Finch's mother Lisa Finch is reported to have seen the police lights outside and opened the front door to see what was happening. Mrs. Finch reports that her son "screamed and then they shot him." The police report indicates that after Finch stepped onto his front porch, police ordered him to put his hands up. According to officer testimony, he began to do so and then stopped. A Wichita police officer standing on the other side of the street fired a single round, striking Finch and piercing his heart and right lung. Finch was transported to Ascension Via Christi St. Francis, where he was pronounced dead 17 minutes after he was shot.
Finch's mother reports that shortly after the altercation police ordered her and other family members to exit the residence. The family was handcuffed and taken to the police station for questioning. Initial reports from Deputy Wichita Police Chief Troy Livingston stated that "a male came to the front door. As he came to the front door, one of our officers discharged his weapon." Livingston did not initially state if Finch was armed, or what caused the officer to fire his weapon. In a later statement on December 30, the Wichita Police Department stated the shooting was caused by Finch "reaching into his waistband". The officer involved was eventually identified as Justin Rapp, a seven-year veteran of the force.
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2017 Wichita swatting
On December 28, 2017, a fatal swatting incident occurred in Wichita, Kansas, United States. During an online dispute between Casey Viner and Shane Gaskill regarding the video game Call of Duty: WWII, Viner threatened to have Gaskill swatted. Gaskill responded by giving him a false address for his residence, one that was occupied by an uninvolved person, Andrew Finch. Viner then asked Tyler Barriss, an anonymous online swatter, to make the required fraudulent call to initiate the swatting. Wichita Police responded to the address, and as Finch was exiting his house, police officer Justin Rapp fatally shot him.
Barriss pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter and many other charges from unrelated incidents for which he was wanted. In March 2019, Barriss was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. Viner was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment and two years supervised release for his involvement, while Gaskill was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment. Rapp was not charged for Finch's death.
At the time of the incident, Tyler Rai Barriss was a 25-year-old homeless man living in Los Angeles, California. Known online as "SWAuTistic", he had a criminal record including domestic violence, and had served 16 months in Los Angeles County Jail for making false bomb threats against KABC-TV, an elementary school in Los Angeles, and a middle school in Granada Hills. He was wanted by police in Panama City, Florida, for calling approximately 30 other bomb threats, including one to a high school, and on fraud and mischief charges in Canada for harassing a woman in Calgary.
Reports surfaced that the series of events began with an online argument over a $1.50 wager in an online match of Call of Duty: WWII on UMG Gaming, which operates online video game tournaments. Two men, Casey Viner (known by the pseudonym Baperizer) and Shane Gaskill (known by pseudonym Miruhcle), fought over friendly fire in the match, causing them to lose both the match and $1.50 in wagers. The two gamers took to Twitter in an argument about the loss.
Viner threatened to swat Gaskill over the loss. Gaskill intentionally gave Viner the wrong address, a location in Wichita where he previously resided with his family, and where he said he would "be waiting". Gaskill's family had been evicted from the address in 2016. Viner then contacted Barriss and provided him with the address given to swat Gaskill. Andrew Finch, the resident of the given address, was not a known gamer and had nothing to do with the Call of Duty match.
Using voice over IP through the free Wi-Fi provided by a South Los Angeles library, Barriss called the Wichita Police Department. Because the call was transferred from Wichita City Hall to 911, the dispatcher believed the call was coming from the Wichita area. Barriss, identifying himself as "Brian", claimed that he was at the residence at 1033 West McCormick Street, had fatally shot his father, and was holding family members at gunpoint. He asked if police were coming to the house, saying he had already poured gasoline all over the house and was threatening to set it on fire.
Wichita Police Department officers, who were not SWAT team members and were not trained for tactical situations or hostage rescues, responded to Barriss' call and surrounded Finch's residence. Andrew Finch's mother Lisa Finch is reported to have seen the police lights outside and opened the front door to see what was happening. Mrs. Finch reports that her son "screamed and then they shot him." The police report indicates that after Finch stepped onto his front porch, police ordered him to put his hands up. According to officer testimony, he began to do so and then stopped. A Wichita police officer standing on the other side of the street fired a single round, striking Finch and piercing his heart and right lung. Finch was transported to Ascension Via Christi St. Francis, where he was pronounced dead 17 minutes after he was shot.
Finch's mother reports that shortly after the altercation police ordered her and other family members to exit the residence. The family was handcuffed and taken to the police station for questioning. Initial reports from Deputy Wichita Police Chief Troy Livingston stated that "a male came to the front door. As he came to the front door, one of our officers discharged his weapon." Livingston did not initially state if Finch was armed, or what caused the officer to fire his weapon. In a later statement on December 30, the Wichita Police Department stated the shooting was caused by Finch "reaching into his waistband". The officer involved was eventually identified as Justin Rapp, a seven-year veteran of the force.