A Call of Duty player responsible for a swatting call that resulted in an innocent bystander being shot and killed by police has pleaded guilty to multiple charges during a court hearing, and faces a minimum of 20 years in prison.
According to earlier reports, the swatting call – a practice in which a person anonymously places a call with police, falsely claiming a violent emergency situation in order to summon an armed response unit to the home of another party – was reportedly made over disagreement regarding a $1.50 (around £1.20) wager in an online Call of Duty game.
The argument, according to a statement from the US Attorney’s Office for Kansas, took place between Casey Viner, 18, of Ohio, and Shane Gaskill, 20, of Wichita (both of whom are awaiting trial). During the disagreement, Gaskill reportedly provided Viner with an old home address, daring him to swat the building. Viner then passed on the address to Tyler Barriss, 25, who proceeded to place the hoax call with police.
As a result of Barriss’ call, an armed police response unit visited Gaskill’s previous address in Wichita believing there to be a gunman on the premises that had taken two hostages and had already shot another dead. Tragically, when the house’s current occupant, 28-year-old Andrew Finch, answered the door, officers opened fire. Finch later died in hospital. Police have since claimed Finch “unexpectedly dropped his hands” during the incident, leading responders to believe he was reaching for a weapon. Finch, however, was unarmed.