Man arrested in LA in fatal ‘swatting’ hoax in Wichita, Kan., has been accused of making false threats before
December 31, 2017 by admin
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Two years ago, Tyler Barriss called in multiple bomb threats to the Glendale offices of KABC-TV Channel 7, prompting a mass evacuation.
Barriss was charged and eventually convicted in connection with the hoax, one of several high-profile incidents at the time that focused attention on the act of crank-calling known as “swatting.”
Now, Barriss, 25, is accused of a much more serious hoax. He was arrested in South Los Angeles on Friday for his suspected role in a deadly prank in Kansas, police said.
Barriss allegedly made a hoax call that resulted in the police shooting of Andrew Finch, according to police and family members of the victim. Finch, 28, was killed after officers descended outside his Wichita house after getting a 911 call about a shooting at the residence on Thursday night.
The term “swatting” refers to the police response typically generated by such calls, with officers deploying SWAT teams to an address. Pranksters typically claim that an armed intruder is inside the home.
The FBI estimates that roughly 400 cases of swatting occur annually, with some using caller ID spoofing to disguise their number. Swatting cases that result in the death of a victim are less common, however.
An FBI supervisor in Kansas City, Mo., which covers all of Kansas, said the agency joined in the investigation in Wichita at the request of local police.
Wichita Deputy Police Chief Troy Livingston said a prankster called to report a shooting and kidnapping. Police have not disclosed the name of the man who was killed Thursday evening, but relatives identified him as Finch.
Police played audio of the 911 call for reporters. A man said his father had been shot in the head. He said he was holding his mother and a sibling at gunpoint. The caller, speaking with relative calm, said he poured gasoline inside the home “and I might just set it on fire.”
Several officers arrived and surrounded the home, bracing for a hostage situation. When Finch went to the door, police told him to put his hands up and move slowly.
But Livingston said the man moved a hand toward the area of his waistband. An officer, fearing the man was reaching for a gun, fired a single shot. Finch died later at a local hospital. Livingston said Finch was unarmed.
LAPD Officer Mike Lopez said Barriss was arrested Friday afternoon on a fugitive warrant. He is being held in Los Angeles County Jail without bail, Lopez said.
Dexerto, an online news service focused on the video game world, reported that the fatal series of events began with an online argument over a $1 or $2 wager over a “Call of Duty” game in an online tournament operated by UMG Gaming. Lisa Finch, Finch’s mother, told reporters her son was not a gamer.
“We woke this morning to horrible news about an innocent man losing his life,” UMG spokeswoman Shannon Gerritzen said in an email to Associated Press. “Our hearts go out to his loved ones. We are doing everything we can to assist the authorities in this matter.”
The Finch family on Friday allowed reporters inside their home.
“What gives the cops the right to open fire?” Lisa Finch asked. “That cop murdered my son over a false report in the first place.”
Lisa Finch said the family was forced outside barefoot in the freezing cold and handcuffed after the shooting. She said her granddaughter was forced to step over her dying uncle and that no guns were found in the home.
Barriss’ alleged bomb threats to KABC-TV in 2015 triggered a large police response. Prosecutors said Barriss also allegedly threatened a relative to prevent her from reporting the threats.
Barriss was convicted of two counts related to making a false bomb report and sentenced to two years and eight months in jail. It’s unclear how much time he served in the case.
Court records show other convictions against Barriss, including a violation of a protective order.
A rash of swatting incidents in 2013 targeting Los Angeles-area celebrities prompted police to stop publicizing the cases. The police believed that media coverage fueled more swatting incidents. The Los Angeles City Council also voted that year to offer reward money for information leading to the arrest of suspected swatters.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
UPDATES:
6:05 p.m.: This article was updated with new information from police.
4:55 p.m.: This article was updated with new information from police.
3:50 p.m.: This article was updated with more information about Barriss’ criminal history and background about swatting cases in Los Angeles.
2:10 p.m.: This article was updated with new information about Barriss’ 2015 conviction in a Glendale case.
This article was originally posted at 10:20 a.m.
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Iranian protests: World is watching response, US warns
December 30, 2017 by admin
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The US says “the world is watching” how Iranian authorities respond to anti-government protests that have broken out in several cities.
A White House statement said Iranians were fed up with “the regime’s corruption and its squandering of the nation’s wealth to fund terrorism”.
The US State Department condemned the arrests of dozens of protesters.
Thousands of people are said to have joined demonstrations in the cities of Kermanshah, Rasht, Isfahan and Qom.
The protests spread to the capital, Tehran, on Friday and social media footage showed a heavy police presence there.
It is the biggest display of public dissent since huge pro-reform rallies in 2009.
“The Iranian government should respect their people’s rights, including their right to express themselves. The world is watching,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on Twitter.
The US State Department urged all nations “to publicly support the Iranian people and their demands for basic rights and an end to corruption”.
What is Iran saying about the protests?
First Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri has suggested that government opponents are behind the protests, according to comments reported by state broadcaster IRIB.
He said: “Some incidents in the country these days are on the pretext of economic problems, but it seems there is something else behind them. They think by doing this they harm the government, but it will be others who ride the wave.”
Footage posted on social media showed street protests in Kermanshah
Earlier, Fars news agency reported that protesters in Kermanshah had destroyed some public property and were dispersed.
The governor-general of Tehran said that any such gatherings would be firmly dealt with by the police, who are out in force on the main roads.
Officials in Mashhad said the protest was organised by “counter-revolutionary elements”, and video online showed police using water cannon.
Meanwhile state TV said rallies were due to take place on Saturday to commemorate 2009 demonstrations held in support of the then conservative government of Mahmud Ahmedinejad.
Those demonstrations were in response to protests by reformists over a disputed election which returned Mr Ahmedinejad to power.
How did the demonstrations begin?
The current protests started in the north-eastern city of Mashhad – the country’s second most-populous – on Thursday.
People there took to the streets to express anger at the government over high prices, and vented their fury against President Hassan Rouhani. Fifty-two people were arrested for chanting “harsh slogans”.
The protests spread to other cities in the north-east, and some developed into broader demonstrations against the authorities, calling for the release of political prisoners and an end to police beatings.
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President Hassan Rouhani is blamed by many for the poor state of the economy
On Friday, despite warnings from authorities, the demonstrations spread further to some of the biggest cities in the country.
They represent the most serious and widespread expression of public discontent in Iran since 2009, correspondents say.
What is behind the unrest?
The protests were initially against economic conditions and corruption but appear to have turned political.
Slogans have been chanted against not just Mr Rouhani but Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and clerical rule in general.
Demonstrators were reportedly heard yelling slogans like “The people are begging, the clerics act like God”. Protests have even been held in Qom, a holy city home to powerful clerics.
There is also anger at Iran’s interventions abroad. In Mashhad, some chanted “not Gaza, not Lebanon, my life for Iran”, a reference to what protesters say is the administration’s focus on foreign rather than domestic issues.
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Other demonstrators chanted “leave Syria, think about us” in videos posted online. Iran is a key provider of military support to the government of Bashar al-Assad in Syria.
It is also accused of providing arms to Houthi rebels fighting a Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, which it denies, and is an ally of Lebanon’s powerful Shia movement Hezbollah.
Are the protests growing?
There have been calls on social media for protests up and down the country, despite warnings from the government against illegal gatherings.
Demonstrations of varying sizes are reported to have occurred in at least seven cities.
Overall, the numbers said to be taking part range from a less than 100 in some places to thousands in others – but demonstrations do not appear to be taking place on a massive scale.