Officers responded to a false report of a gunman holding his family hostage after shooting his father Thursday night.
A feud between two Call of Duty game players sparked the hoax call. However, the address given to police led them to the doorstep of 28-year-old Andrew Finch, who was not part of the online gaming community, police say.
"Due to the actions of a prankster, we have an innocent victim," Wichita police Deputy Chief Troy Livingston said during a press conference Friday.
Officers responded to a report of a gunman holding his mother, brother and sister hostage after shooting his father in the head Thursday night, Livingston said.
"That was the information we were working off of," he told the Wichita Eagle.
Livingston added that authorities "got into position" when they arrived at the home, ready for a hostage situation.
The 28-year-old, identified by his family as Andrew Finch, went to the door to see what was going on, the Eagle reported.
"As he came to the door, one of our officers discharged his weapon," Livingston said.
Officers had instructed Finch to put his hands up, but he lowered them several times, Livingston said. One officer then took a shot because he "feared for officer's safety," Livingston said.
The father of two was taken to a hospital. He later died.
Police said he was unarmed.
Several social media users placed blame on one gamer, who tweeted about the incident.
"I DIDNT GET ANYONE KILLED BECAUSE I DIDNT DISCHARGE A WEAPON AND BEING A SWAT MEMBER ISNT MY PROFESSION," the gamer tweeted. The account was suspended overnight.
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People seriously needs to stop acting like a bunch of salty morons,making false calls to get someone swatted is not funny. Hopefully the person responsible for the false report gets caught.