Call Of Duty Swatting Suspect Receives 46 New Charges
The act of swatting is already one notorious for its violent disruption of gamers’ lives and unwarranted waste of police resources. The extreme form of trolling reached a new low late last year when an infamous Call of Duty swatting resulted in the death of an innocent victim, and eventually brought down charges of involuntary manslaughter on the sinister caller, Tyler Barriss.
As with many court proceedings, litigation is still unfolding nearly a year later and, according to Wired, has recently dropped even more charges in the lap of Barriss. A total of 46 additional crimes have been filed by Central District of California prosecutors, detailing a stunning array of acts allegedly committed by Barriss dating back from 2015 up to his fateful arrest in 2017.
Included in the rap sheet were accusations of further swattings, bank fraud, and a series of bomb threats made to a Massachusetts TV station as well as various schools. The latter charge is one Barriss fully admitted to in the past, attributing the act with wanting to give his online gaming buddies the day off from school.
A Kansas state court was to begin Barriss initial involuntary manslaughter case on October 1st, but the trial was postponed until January 7th, With these new charges coming to light, it’s possible events could also extend even further than that. It’s speculated that a third trial could manifest following allegations of another set of bomb threats, this time directed at government organizations the FBI and FCC.
Last year’s unfortunate Call of Duty Swatting happened after police in Wichita, Kansas received a call about a dangerous hostage situation, where in reality nothing was actually taking place. The “prank” started as a heated argument between two Call of Duty players, the two having escalated words to the point of attempting to “Swat” each other. The exchange came to a head when 28-year-old Andrew Finch was caught in the crossfire of the armed police response.
In the wake of this tragic incident, a number of measures have been put in place to discourage swatting from ever again achieving a fatal result. Seattle police recently began measures to halt the horrendous prank and the Andrew T. Finch anti-swatting bill was passed in Kansas earlier this year, bearing the name of the fated victim.
What do you think? Are you shocked with how many charges are being brought against the Call of Duty swatting suspect? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to follow Don’t Feed the Gamers on Twitter and Facebook to be informed of the latest gaming and entertainment news 24 hours a day! For more recent headlines featured on DFTG, check out these next few news stories:
Eric Hall2712 Posts
Phone-browsing Wikipedia in one hand and clutching his trusty controller in the other, the legendary Eric Hall spreads his wealth of knowledge as a writer for Don't Feed the Gamers. Be sure to catch his biweekly "Throwback Thursday" segment for a nostalgic look at trivia from the past.
