https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/12/29/unarmed-man-killed-police-after-swatting-prank-kansas/991665001/
[USA] - An innocent and unarmed man was shot dead by police
Thursday after a "swatting"
prank led authorities to a home in Kansas, officials
say.
A feud between two Call of Duty
game players sparked the hoax call. However, the address
given to police led them to the doorstep of 28-year-old Andrew
Finch, who was not part of the online gaming community, police
say.
"Due to the actions of a prankster, we have an innocent victim,"
Wichita police Deputy Chief Troy Livingston said during a press
conference Friday.
Officers responded to a report of a gunman holding his mother, brother and sister
hostage after shooting his father in the head Thursday
night, Livingston said.
"That was the information we were working off of," he told the
Wichita Eagle.
More: Dangerous 'swatting' prank terrorizes gamer's family
Livingston added that authorities "got into position" when they
arrived at the home, ready for a hostage situation.
The 28-year-old, identified by
his family as Andrew Finch, went to the door to see what
was going on, the Eagle reported.
"As he came to the door, one of
our officers discharged his weapon," Livingston
said.
Officers had instructed Finch to
put his hands up, but he lowered them several times,
Livingston said. One officer then took a shot because he "feared
for officer's safety," Livingston said.
The father of two was taken to a hospital. He later died.
Police said he was
unarmed.
Officers soon learned that no one in the house had a gunshot wound
and that there wasn’t a hostage situation.
"What gives the cops the right to open fire?" Finch's mother asked
the Wichita Eagle. “Why
didn’t they give him the same warning they gave us? That cop
murdered my son over a false report.”
More than a dozen gamers told the Eagle that a feud between
two Call of Duty players sparked the swatting call.
The gamers were arguing when one threatened to target the other.
The intended target gave the other gamer a "fake" address,
according to Twitter posts.
"We believe this case is an act
of swatting," Livingston confirmed Friday.
Several social media users placed blame on one gamer, who tweeted
about the incident.
"I DIDNT GET ANYONE KILLED BECAUSE I DIDNT DISCHARGE A WEAPON AND
BEING A SWAT MEMBER ISNT MY PROFESSION," the gamer tweeted. The
account was suspended overnight.
Finch's family believes whoever made the call should be held
accountable.
"The person who made the phone call took my nephew, her son, two
kids’ father," the victim’s aunt, Lorrie Hernandez-Caballero told
the Wichita Eagle. "How does it feel to be a murderer? I
can’t believe people do this on purpose."
Swatting is a prank where someone
calls authorities to report a fake emergency — often a hostage
situation or active shooter — with the intent of drawing a "SWAT
team" response to a location.
The dangerous prank has become popular nationwide among gamers, who
use caller ID spoofing or other
techniques to disguise their phone numbers, according to
911.gov.
"Without that false phone call we wouldn't have been there,"
Livingston said.
The officer who shot and killed Finch was identified as a veteran
of more than 7 years with the police department. He was be placed
on administrative paid leave pending investigation.
No arrests have been made so far.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...police-after-swatting-prank-kansas/991665001/
