Police Kill Man in Apparent 'Swatting' Prank

A 28-year-old man in Kansas was reportedly killed by police Thursday night over a $1.50 bet made on a video game by two strangers. After receiving a call about someone shooting their father and holding their family hostage, police responded en masse to a house in Wichita, the Wichita Eagle reports. “A male came to the front door,” deputy police chief Troy Livingston says. “As he came to the front door, one of our officers discharged his weapon.” It's unclear why the officer shot the man, and the shooting is under investigation. 

Family has identified the man as Andrew Finch. More than a dozen self-identified gamers on Twitter tell the Eagle that Finch was killed as the result of "swatting," wherein one person calls in a fictional threat at another's address as a prank. The Vergereports that swatting has resulted in severe injuries in the past, but this may be the first swatting-related death.

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