L.A. man arrested after suspected prank call results in police shooting of Kansas man

Police in Los Angeles have arrested a man they suspect made a hoax emergency call that resulted in a SWAT police officer fatally shooting a man at the door of his own home in Kansas, law enforcement officials said Saturday.

Wichita police Deputy Chief Troy Livingston on Friday characterized the hoax call as "swatting" in which a "prankster" called 911 with a fake story about a shooting and kidnapping to draw a SWAT team to the victim's address. Authorities haven't released the name of the man who was killed Thursday, but relatives have identified him as 28-year-old Andrew Finch.

Tyler Barriss, 25, is suspected of making that call and was arrested in Los Angeles on Friday, according to the Los Angeles Police Department and the Wichita Police Department in statements emailed early Saturday afternoon.

Police shot the Kansas man minutes after arriving at the residence in response to the hoax call, said Wichita Deputy Police Chief Troy Livingston, describing the event "as a tragic and senseless act."

Authorities described the case as an example of "swatting," in which a caller falsely reports an emergency that requires a police response, usually by Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT)teams.

Barriss was being held without bond in the Los Angeles County jail system on Saturday, a county database showed. It listed no legal representation for him. Police and jail officials did not immediately return calls seeking confirmation.

Wichita police on Friday released a recording of the 911 call in question. The voice of a man could be heard saying that his parents had been arguing. "I shot him in the head, and he's not breathing anymore,"the voice said, referring to the father. The man then told the 911 operator that he was holding a handgun on his mother and little sister, had doused the house with gasoline and was thinking of torching it.

'How does it feel to be a murderer?'

Following the call, Wichita police officers surrounded a house on the city's west side, Livingston said.

"A 28-year-old male opened the front screen door and stood in the doorway or just outside that doorway," he said. "Officers gave him several verbal commands to put his hands up and walk towardthem."

A police officer shot once after the man quickly raised his hands and appeared to point a weapon at the officers, Livingston said. Police found no one dead, injured or taken hostage inside the house, he said.

911 recording of 'swatting' prank call

7 years ago

Duration 7:05

Police in Wichita, Kan., release the 911 recording of what that they say is a 'swatting' prank call that led to a fatal police shooting

Family members told the Wichita Eagle newspaper that Finch, a father of two, was the man killed.

"The person who made the phone call took my nephew ... two kids'father," Finch's aunt, Lorrie Hernandez-Caballero, told the paper. "How does it feel to be a murderer? I can't believe people do this on purpose."