An Ohio gamer who fatally swatted another player has been sentenced to 15 months in prison after making a prank emergency call to the police that led to a deadly shooting. This is one of the first deadly swatting cases revolving around Call of Duty.
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Swatting is nothing new in gaming and is one of the plagues that infect the gaming industry’s social platforms. Casey Viner lost a $1.50 bet in a game of Call of Duty: WW2 in which he hired someone else to make the swatting prank call to the police. Yes, $1.50 on Call of Duty.
This phone call led to the death of 28-year old Andrew Finch in Wichita, Kansas back in April this year. Viner pleaded guilty to felony charges of conspiracy and obstruction of justice after it came to light that Viner tried to hide his involvement in the crime during the investigation process.
Viner’s lawyer recommended two years’ probation for the criminal but NBC reported that the U.S District Judge Eric Melgren sentenced Viner to 15 months of prison plus a two-year ban on gaming.
As for the culprit who made the phone call itself, Tyler Rai Barriss was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”#FFB113″ class=”” size=”19″]We hope that this will send a strong message about swatting, which is a juvenile and senseless practice. We’d like to put an end to it within the gaming community and any other context. Swatting, as I’ve said before, is not a prank.[/perfectpullquote]
Swatting is a real issue in the US. Back in 2014, the biggest case was reported where 60 law enforcement officers stormed on the Long Beach, New York home of a 17-year old. It turned out the call was a prank after someone called the police and told them the youngster had killed his mother and could kill more people.
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