Late last year we reported the tragic news of an innocent man being shot, and killed, due to a swatting prank gone horribly, horribly wrong. The incident occurred when two boys got into a fight during a Call of Duty match, which went from an average heated argument to deadly in a blink of an eye and a stranger was caught in the crossfire. An arrest was later made, and now Tyler Barriss – the suspect that made the call that started it all – has pleaded guilty to 51 federal charges.
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Accused swatter Tyler Barriss just pleaded guilty to 51 federal charges – most involving bomb threats and other threats of violence at schools, shopping centers, TV stations, homes and government buildings across the country. Of those, 3 involve Dec. death of Andrew Finch in KS.
— Amy Renee Leiker (@AmyReneeLeiker) November 13, 2018
Amy Renee Leiker, Kansas reporter, took to Twitter to provide on the case that impacted their home state. In the Tweet, Leiker mentioned “Accused swatter Tyler Barriss just pleaded guilty to 51 federal charges – most involving bomb threats and other threats of violence at schools, shopping centers, TV stations, homes and government buildings across the country. Of those, 3 involve Dec. death of Andrew Finch in KS.”
She added that three of those charges accepted comes from Kansas, two from Washington DC, and the rest were charged in California Federal Court. She also mentioned, “Barriss’ plea hearing took almost two hours. If he writes apology letters to Finch’s family, police and dispatchers that express his remorse, he’ll likely be sentenced to 20 years in federal prison total. If he doesn’t, he’ll get up to 25 years total. He’ll be sentenced Jan. 30.”
Given that the swatter himself boasted about the result of his actions shortly after being questioned, it’s unclear whether or not Barriss will adhere to the guidelines. He’s event threatened to “do it again” because he’s an “eGod.” The resulting storm prompted many to seek action against this rising trend, with even several police stations prepping for these specific incidents.
As we’ve mentioned previously, swatting, for those of you who don’t know, is an idiotic and irresponsible form of harassment used by man-babies who don’t like losing at video games. When someone wants to go out of their way to harm or inconvenience their opponent, they’ll hire someone to call in a fake threat to their home, triggering a SWAT response. Can’t beat your opponent in Call of Duty? No need to throw a fit, just call the police and tell them that your opponent is violent, wielding weapons, and holding hostages. Nothing could possibly go wrong, right?
This “prank” did seem to escalate in popularity before it finally resulted in the loss of life. The sentencing will officially take place on January 30, 2019.
