RECKLESS

Police Arrest L.A. Man in Fatal ‘Swatting’ Prank

The 25-year-old man is being held without bail.

Police have arrested a 25-year-old Los Angeles man in connection with a “swatting” hoax in Kansas that triggered a fatal police shooting. LAPD Officer Mike Lopez said the suspect, Tyler Barriss, was arrested in South Los Angeles on Friday on a fugitive warrant in connection with the deadly incident. He is being held without bail. The arrest came a day after a 28-year-old man was fatally shot by SWAT officers responding to a 911 call in which the caller claimed his father had been shot in the head and he was holding others at gunpoint. Authorities say they believe the 911 call was a “swatting” prank popular among gamers, and it is thought to have occurred shortly after a spat between gamers battling each other in Call of Duty. Barris reportedly has a track record of making false threats to police. In 2015, he was arrested after falsely claiming there were “multiple” bombs inside the KABC-TV studio in Glendale, a move that prompted evacuations, the Los Angeles Times reports.