Chilling trend of ‘swatting’ where sick pranksters spark armed police raids with hoax calls – and left innocent man dead

SWATTING has become a twisted online trend where sick pranksters spark chaos with hoax calls to the cops.

High profile celebrities and influencers have been targeted by so-called “swatters” – but for one innocent dad, a single phone call cost him his life.

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Andrew Finch was killed on his doorstep after swatters sent armed police to his home[/caption]

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He opened the door to cops unarmed after a hoax call about a hostage situation at his home – but he was shot dead[/caption]

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Influencer Kalani was swatted during a live-stream with the whole ordeal caught on camera[/caption]

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Swatting calls often spark massive armed police responses[/caption]

Swatting is when a hoax phone call is made to the police with a fake crime report – usually related to bomb threats, hostage situations or murder.

The caller gives an address of a home – and it often leads to armed officers and SWAT teams turning up ready to shoot.

Some hoax calls have resulted in people’s homes being raided – and innocent people held at gunpoint by police.

For 28-year-old Andrew Finch, a swatting call led to his death after he was shot by cops who surrounded his house.

Andrew M Stroth, managing director at Action Injury Law Group, worked with Mr Finch’s family when they filed a $25million lawsuit against the cops involved in his death.

He described swatting as “another form of a prank call” – but he is concerned over the rising number of cases in recent years.

He told The Sun: “I think swatting has become a trend and people are doing it more and more but the phenomenon called swatting to me is another form of a prank call.

“Now with social media there are ways to shut down a university campus or have police show up to an innocent person’s home and unfortunately I see it increasing across the country.”

Stroth – who has seen first hand the devastating consequences of a swat call – says people use them to “bully or harass” others or just as a “funny joke”.

Mr Stroth has worked on several high profile civil action cases that focus on police shootings across the US.

But he has always regarded Finch’s case one of the most shocking.

Mr Finch’s house was swatted by cops after a hoax phone call.

“Andrew Finch heard noise outside his home, he opened the door and within moments he was shot and killed by a sharpshooter with the Wichita Police Department,” Mr Stroth said.

“His kids lost their father, his girlfriend lost their boyfriend, his mum lost a son, his siblings lost a brother, I mean it was a tragedy.

“How in America can you open the door to your home and be instantly shot and killed.”

Officer Rapp, who fired the fatal bullet, continued in his role at the Wichita Police Department.

The Finch family and Mr Stroth have always maintained the view that Rapp should be held “criminally responsible for the tragic death of Andrew Finch”.

Mr Stroth feels more needs to be done within police departments to stop swatting calls resulting in fatalities.

“Police departments need to be trained and obviously there needs to be more education around these types of calls so that the authorities know how to respond appropriately,” he said.

“Swatters need to be held responsible and I think there needs to be training in police departments across the country with respect to what do you do when a call comes.”

The shocking death of Mr Finch sparked outrage across the US.

Serial swatter Tyler Barriss made a hoax call to cops that ended up with Finch being shot

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The alleged house of Finch where he was fatally shot[/caption]

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Wichita Police officer Justin Rapp talking about the night Andrew Finch was killed[/caption]

Mr Stroth said: “Think if it was your brother, your sister, your father, your mother who was killed or injured by the result of a swatting call.

“I think people need to think about the consequences of their actions because what happened to Andrew Finch changed his life forever on that day.

“It’s unconstitutional, it’s illegal, it’s wrong and it’s impacting people’s lives.”

In recent years, swatting calls have plagued the lives of several high-profile internet celebrities, including YouTube stars and streamers.

They often have their addresses leaked online by fans who manage to find out where they live.

Several people have even be swatted while they were live-streaming.

Police raid their homes and do a thorough search of the property completely ruining their job and causing hours of commotion and panic.

For Mr Stroth, swatters are often younger people who believe what they are doing is just a harmless joke.

He said: “It is immature and they think it’s funny and a joke.

“There is access to more information, there’s more people online, all sorts of gaming and influencers and it’s fairly easy to go on google and get personal information.”

Referring to the people involved the Finch case, he said: “I don’t think those people that day woke up that morning and said we’re going to go kill somebody or get someone killed.

“It was a joke and one that went sideways.”

Andrew M Stroth has spent years helping out the family of an innocent victim of swatting

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Swatting has plagued America’s influencers and high profile names in the past decade[/caption]