Andrew Finch (28) died over a Call of Duty game. That's tragically absurd. But what makes it even worse is the fact that Finch wasn't even playing Call of Duty and wasn't a gamer.
Animosity between Shane Gaskill (19) and Casey Viner (18) developed during a Call of Duty match, leading Viner to turn to Tyler Barriss (25) - a well known "swatter." In keeping with the incredibly moronic prank, Barris made a 911 call to a Kansas police department that a hostage situation was taking place at Finch's address.
It's obvious why Barris and Viner are being charged. The reason why Gaskill is also being included is that he gave the address of 1033 McCormick Witchita, Kansas to Viner so that the two could fight, typing the message, "Please try some shit. I’ll be waiting." Well, that wasn't Gaskill's real address, that was where Finch lived. Gaskill gave out an address to a property that his parents rent out. When a Swat team arrived at Finch's home, he had zero clue of what was happening.
When news of Finch's death surfaced, Gaskill panicked and frantically reached out to Viner and Barris in an effort to get them to delete the messages.
Viner is being charged with conspiracy for contacting Barriss to make the swat. Gaskill is being charged with fraud for giving out the fake address. Both Gaskill and Viner are facing additional obstruction of justice charges for deleting their chat logs. Barriss is facing manslaughter charges. The police officer who fired and killed Finch will not face any charges. Finch leaves behind two young children.