Wichita ‘swatting’ hoax suspect accused of making similar call in Canada

Calgary, Alberta — A Los Angeles man accused of making a hoax emergency call that led to the fatal police shooting of a Kansas man is charged with making a similar call in Canada days earlier.

Police in Calgary said in a news release that warrants have been issued for 25-year-old Tyler Barriss. He’s accused of calling authorities Dec. 22 and claiming that he had shot his father and was holding his mother and younger brother hostage. Officers were evacuating apartments when a woman called police and said she believed she was the victim of a bogus “swatting” call.

A similar claim on Dec. 28 led police in Wichita, Kansas, to rush to a home where 28-year-old Andrew Finch was fatally shot. Barriss is charged in Kansas with making a false alarm.