Gamer Faces Additional Charges In Fatal Swatting Case
Shane Gaskill was accused of a fatal ‘swatting’ incident in December 2017, and now faces additional charges. Gaskill is one of three men who have been charged for ‘swatting’ Andrew Finch in December 2017, where Finch was killed.
Swatting is a term used when emergency services are called into responding to a hoax. In recent years some gamers have ‘swatted’ streamers after finding out where they live, and calling police saying that an illegal activity is going on at the address – such as the streamer holding someone hostage.
Federal prosecutors have said that Casey Viner recruited Tyler Barriss to swat Gaskill, calling 911 and claiming that a hostage was being held at the address. The call led authorities to Finch’s residence, who believed they were responding to a deadly hostage situation that resulted in Finch being shot and killed.
New charges include wire-fraud charges against Gaskill, which allege that after authorities responded to the claim there was a hostage at Finch’s home, Gaskill said to Barriss “Do you wanna try again?” Another message Gaskill sent Barriss included an IP address, which Gaskill claimed could be used by Barriss to launch a swatting assault on him. However, the indictment alleges that the IP address that Gaskill provided did not belong to him, and Gaskill knew this.
Gaskill lied to law enforcement when he was asked if he dared Barriss to “try again,” and Gaskill also told authorities that the IP address have provided Barriss was one of his old ones, however it actually belonged to another person in Kansas.
Gaskill and Viner’s trials are set to begin on September 4th, and if convicted Gaskill faces 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for wire fraud charges. He also faces up to five years for making a false statement to the FBI, and an additional fine of up to $250,000 for each count.
