Calgary, AB,
09
January
2018
|
13:55
America/Denver

Los Angeles man charged with Calgary swatting incident

The Calgary Police Service Cyber/Forensics Unit has issued warrants for a Los Angeles man following a swatting incident last month.

On Friday, Dec. 22, 2017, at approximately 7:40 p.m., Calgary 911 received a call from a male who claimed he had shot his father and was holding his mom and younger brother hostage. The caller provided information leading officers to believe that the incident occurred at an address located in the 2300 block of 17b Street S.W. Officers from patrol and the Tactical Unit quickly attended the residence, contained the scene, and began evacuating nearby units.

While officers were on scene trying to confirm the reported information, Calgary 911 received another call from a female who lived at the address, who believed she was the victim of a swatting call. The female exited her residence and officers confirmed that the initial report of a shooting and hostage scenario was false. During this incident, a substantial amount of police resources were required to contain the scene and protect the safety of citizens.

It is believed that the female victim was targeted because of her online persona.

Following the incident, the investigation was handed over to members of the CPS Cyber/Forensics Unit. Investigators quickly identified a suspect who had made contact online with the victim earlier that day. It is believed this same suspect was involved in similar swatting calls in other jurisdictions.

Warrants have now been issued for Tyler Raj BARRISS, 25, of Los Angeles, California. Warrants include one count each of:

  • CC 140(1)(c) – Public Mischief – falsely reporting that an offence has been committed
  • CC 372 (1) – Fraud – false information by letter or telecommunication
  • CC 430(1)(d) – Mischief

The Service takes swatting events extremely seriously and will investigate each incident thoroughly. Swatting calls have the potential to create significant risks for both public and officer safety and can require an extensive amount of resources to respond and investigate.

Case #17548835/3015