Teen accused of asking Barriss to 'swat' Wichita home was allegedly swatted by him earlier
A man whose voice sounds like Tyler Barriss' called police in College Hill, Ohio, in December to report that he had shot his father in the head and was holding his mom and a sibling hostage in a closet.
None of it was real.
Audio of the 911 call released to WLWT5-TV sounds almost exactly like the fake 911 call that Barriss is accused of making to Wichita police on Dec. 28. Andrew Finch, 28, was fatally shot that night by Wichita Police Officer Justin Rapp, who responded to the call.
The connections to the call in Ohio don't end with the familiar voice and the even more familiar fake report.
The home to where the Cincinnati SWAT Team was sent used to belong to the family of 18-year-old Casey Viner — one of the gamers who has been charged federally in the Wichita case, the TV station reported.
A Fox19 article says the fake call to the house in the 1400 block of Wittekind Terrace happened on Dec. 18 — 10 days before police say Barriss called Wichita's city hall to "swat" 1033 W. McCormick. The current Ohio homeowner told WLWT5 that her house has been swatted twice since then.
Viner is accused in federal court of asking Barriss, 25, of Los Angeles to "swat" Shane Gaskill, 19, of Wichita in December.
Swatting is when someone makes a false emergency report to draw a large number of law enforcement officers to an address. Often the calls involve bomb threats, reports of hostage situations or murders.
Viner and Gaskill were playing "Call of Duty" live on Dec. 28 when they began to fight over a friendly-fire virtual killing, authorities have said. After Viner allegedly contacted Barriss, Gaskill is accused of giving Barriss an old address of his — 1033 W. McCormick, where Finch was inside with his family and a roommate.
Police in Ohio told WLWT5 they think their swatting call is related to the one in Wichita because of the similar script used and tone of the calls.
A Los Angeles detective said investigators have assembled different recordings from across the country identifying Barriss' voice from other bomb threats and swatting calls. He's wanted in Florida and Canada and has been indicted in federal court.
This story was originally published June 6, 2018 at 7:37 PM with the headline "Teen accused of asking Barriss to 'swat' Wichita home was allegedly swatted by him earlier."