![]() ![]() “When you’re on the internet and your actions have little weight in real life, and then suddenly that translates into something as physically heavy as a swatting, it makes you realize the weight of your actions on a computer a lot more than you normally would,” says one former Call of Duty fanatic who has taken part in swattings. Though they acknowledge that swatting is obnoxious, they also view it as a necessary form of frontier justice-a surefire way to stop vulgar “keyboard warriors” from slandering or threatening their online associates. The FBI issued a dispatch about the crime’s rising popularity in February 2008, noting that “individuals did it for the bragging rights and ego, versus any monetary gain.”īut the members of online communities where swatting is commonplace, such as certain hardcore gaming circles, consider that assessment too simplistic. The messages also revealed that Barriss’ repertoire of mischief had recently expanded to include a type of hoax known as swatting: A malefactor calls emergency services and claims there’s a violent crisis at his target’s house the aim is to trick the police into sending a heavily armed SWAT unit to the victim’s house so that its occupants will be both surprised and terrified.ĭeceitful internet enthusiasts have been swatting strangers and acquaintances for more than a decade, using VoIP providers and virtual private networks to make themselves difficult to catch. Barriss gleefully boasted about his threats on Twitter, where he operated multiple accounts under variations of one of his gamer nicknames, Torture God. But he’d also taken aim at more personal targets, such as the middle school for gifted students he’d once attended. ![]() He had forced the evacuations of numerous high schools and colleges where his Halo friends were enrolled his goal was to give them a day off class. Examining them, detectives discovered evidence that Barriss was behind a nationwide wave of bomb threats. They also searched his bedroom, where they found an iPhone that contained some 40,000 messages. The police soon went to Gregory’s house to arrest Barriss, a tall and disconcertingly gaunt man with patchy facial hair and melancholy eyes. Gregory knew from experience that her volatile grandson might well make good on his promise. But he’d warned his grandmother not to snitch: If she did, he said, he’d beat her face into a bloody mess and then blow up their house. Gregory explained that her grandson, who was unemployed and spent most of his time playing online Halo matches on his Xbox 360, had said something odd to her while she’d been watching ABC’s local newscast a few weeks earlier: “Do you think I can clear out that building if I wanted to?” After learning of the first bomb threat, Gregory had confronted Barriss, who readily confessed to the crime. It had fallen on Gregory to raise Barriss, and he still lived with her in a tiny stucco home in the northwest Los Angeles neighborhood of Chatsworth. Barriss’ father had died in a car accident when Tyler was an infant, and his mother, Gregory’s daughter, had a long history of drug possession and prostitution charges. Andrew Finch shooting.”Ī detective made arrangements to meet privately with Gregory, who had been the primary adult in the young man’s life. The clerk announced the name of a Wichita resident who’d asked to address the council, as well as her chosen topic: “Lisa Finch. ![]() After reading an Arbor Day proclamation and cracking a wan joke about his poor gardening skills, he sank into his high-backed leather chair and wearily asked the clerk to call the next item on the agenda. Mayor Jeff Longwell, who oversees the weekly meetings, appeared to dread the drama he knew was about to come. A group of women wore matching black T-shirts that read "Arrest WPD officer Justin Rapp." And when the police department’s spokesperson came forward to offer the opening prayer, several in the group refused to stand. As the council’s wood-paneled chambers filled up that Tuesday morning, a dozen or so spectators made a point of settling into the front rows. But even before the April 17, 2018, meeting was called to order, its atmosphere was electric. The typical Wichita City Council meeting is a dull affair, dominated by bureaucrats droning on about street repairs, zoning codes, and general obligation bonds. ![]()
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