Californian Pleads Guilty to Deadly Swatting, Bomb Hoax Threats Against FBI, FCC

Tyler Barriss of Los Angeles, California, could get up to 20 years behind bars after pleading guilty to multiple counts of making bomb hoax threats, swatting, cyberstalking and other related crimes.

The Californian man was the one responsible for a swatting incident which led to the death of one man from Wichita, Kansas, following a police intervention instigated by a hoax call.

“Without ever stepping foot in Wichita, the defendant created a chaotic situation that quickly turned from dangerous to deadly,” said U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister. “His reasons were trivial and his disregard for the safety of other people was staggering.”

The Wichita police had the swatting target's house surrounded believing that the man inside was holding his family hostage after killing his father according to the hoax call made by Barriss.

Subsequently, when he stepped outside the house and did not fully comply with the police's instructions to keep his hands up, he ended up shot and killed.

Barriss was also behind FBI and FCC fake bomb threats 

Barris is also the one behind the fake bomb threats received by the FBI headquarters and the Federal Communications Commission in Washington, D.C. in December 2017 during the net neutrality proceedings meeting.

His call led to the evacuation of everyone involved in the proceedings and a full bomb squad moving in to clear the scene of the fake bomb.

In the Middle District of California, Barris pleaded guilty to 46 different counts, also admitting he made "calls with false reports that bombs were planted at high schools, universities, shopping malls and TV stations."

Moreover, he also made fake calls to emergency numbers to "Ohio, New Hampshire, Nevada, Massachusetts, Illinois, Utah, Virginia, Texas, Arizona, Missouri, Maine, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, New York, Michigan, Florida and Canada" emergency numbers.

Barriss' sentencing is set for January 30, 2019, in Judge Eric Melgren' U.S. District Court and it could get him in jail for up to 20 years according to the Kansas federal court plea agreement.