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posted by takyon on Saturday December 30 2017, @04:39AM   Printer-friendly
from the yellow-stripe-down-the-back-of-the-uniform dept.

From the NY Daily News (and covered almost everywhere):

A Kansas man shot to death by police earlier this week was the victim of a misdirected online prank known as "swatting," according to social media chatter.

The victim, identified as Andrew Finch, was gunned down on Thursday night after cops responded to his Wichita home amid a false report that he had shot his father to death and was holding his mother, brother and sister hostage.

A responding officer fatally shot Finch, 28, when he came to the front door, Wichita deputy police chief Troy Livingston said during a press conference. Livingston declined to comment on what triggered the officer to open fire and would not say whether Finch was armed.

Police briefing (10m8s). Body camera footage (53s).

I'm speechless.

takyon: The swatting was quickly linked to a dispute between two Call of Duty players:

On Twitter, more than a dozen people who identified themselves as being in the gaming community told The Eagle that a feud between two Call of Duty players sparked one to initiate a "swatting" call. After news began to spread about what happened Thursday night, the people in the gaming community, through Twitter posts, pointed at two gamers.

"I DIDNT GET ANYONE KILLED BECAUSE I DIDNT DISCHARGE A WEAPON AND BEING A SWAT MEMBER ISNT MY PROFESSION," said one gamer, who others said made the swatting call. His account was suspended overnight.

According to posts on Twitter, two gamers were arguing when one threatened to target the other with a swatting call. The person who was the target of the swatting gave the other gamer a false address, which sent police to a nearby home instead of his own, according to Twitter posts. The person who was to be the target of the swatting sent a Tweet saying, "Someone tried to swat me and got an innocent man killed." [...] Dexerto, a online news service focused on gaming and the Call of Duty game, reported the argument began over a $1 or $2 wager over the game.

Update: 911 Call from suspect (4m58s).

Brian Krebs conversed with the apparent suspect over Twitter.


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  • (Score: 2) by Arik on Saturday December 30 2017, @09:15PM (3 children)

    by Arik (4543) on Saturday December 30 2017, @09:15PM (#615973) Journal
    "We haven't even had the right to fucking VOTE for 100 years!"

    Interestingly enough, one of the reasons that female suffrage lagged a few years in the US was that polling showed women in this country were generally against it at first. There were many women who had little or no interest in voting, and *feared losing privileges.* This would be, logically, the consequence, right? Fully equality? So that means you're signing up for the draft... well no. Of course what wound up happening, on this issue and virtually always since, is that women's rights expand wherever the old ways limited them, but they rarely if ever contract in the areas of traditional privilege.

    So women have had the vote for nearly 100 years, and yet in that time not one single female has been drafted, for instance.

    "I swear to Cthulhu, not a day goes by but that I read something and thank my lucky stars I'm a lesbian.."

    Another of those inconvenient statistics is that lesbians are no less likely to batter their partners than men are. So be careful, and don't break your arm while you're patting yourself on the back.
    --
    If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
    Starting Score:    1  point
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    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Sunday December 31 2017, @03:03AM (2 children)

    by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Sunday December 31 2017, @03:03AM (#616051) Journal

    Lesbians have the highest *reported* rate of domestic violence. Reported does not necessarily equal actual. And I've had an abusive lover, but guess what? She's bi, not gay, and has had more men than women. I'm with a perfect gold-star girl now and we get along wonderfully. Don't break your neck shoving your head up your arse. Or do.

    --
    I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
    • (Score: 1, Touché) by kurenai.tsubasa on Sunday December 31 2017, @06:44PM (1 child)

      by kurenai.tsubasa (5227) on Sunday December 31 2017, @06:44PM (#616178) Journal

      No, lesbians are demonstrably more violent. This is how collective and several works, Azuma. It doesn't matter one bit what you do. You are not an individual, and it doesn't matter if you're just as well behaved as a gay man. We can conclude based on the data available that, because you are a lesbian, you are therefore violent.

      It would be unfair to other lesbians, after all, if we were to conclude differently.

      • (Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Sunday December 31 2017, @10:51PM

        by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Sunday December 31 2017, @10:51PM (#616249) Journal

        Preeeeetty sure I'm an individual. That voice in my head is me, my own thoughts. If you are hearing voices that are not yours, you are either a telepath or a demoniac.

        --
        I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...