Who Is Tyler Barriss? Alleged 'Swatting' Incident Leads To Arrest

The man allegedly responsible for Thursday’s notorious “swatting” attack that led to the death of an innocent Kansas man was arrested Friday, KWCH-12 reported. Tyler Raj Barriss, 25, was booked in Glendale, California the day after a police killing that started with an argument over video games became national news.

Barriss, who was thought to have gone by “SWAuTistic” in online gaming communities, was accused of calling in a fake, elaborate report to the Wichita Police Department. He claimed there had been a hostage situation at a specific address, and when officers arrived, one of them opened fire on one of the residents of the home who opened the door, 28-year-old Andrew Finch. Finch’s mother said Finch was unarmed and was not given a verbal warning before being shot. The Wichita Police Department posted the 911 call and body cam footage of the incident to its Facebook page.

All of this allegedly came about because a competitive “Call of Duty” player wanted to put a scare into his teammate after an argument. The swatter known as SWAuTistic was reportedly given the address belonging to Finch instead of the actual address of the intended victim. If Barriss and SWAuTistic were indeed the same person, Barriss would also allegedly be responsible for several other falsified reports. He claimed responsibility for the bomb threat that evacuated the FCC’s recent net neutrality hearing, according to Ars Technica. Barriss was also linked to a bomb threat in Glendale in 2015.

Someone claiming to be SWAuTistic gave a call-in interview to the YouTube show Drama Alert Friday. In the interview (which contains strong language), the swatter said he enjoyed swatting kids “who think that nothing’s going to happen.”

The unidentified officer who shot Finch was placed on paid leave during the investigation.