Police investigate if video game prank led to death

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Police and the FBI are investigating whether an argument over an online game prompted a prank call that led to a house where an officer shot and killed a Kansas man who apparently wasn't involved in the dispute.

Police say the death Thursday in Wichita, Kan., may have been the result of a practice called "swatting," in which a person makes up a false report to get a SWAT team to descend on an address.

Wichita Deputy Police Chief Troy Livingston said an officer responded to a report that a father had been shot in the head and that a shooter was holding his mother, brother and sister hostage, The Wichita Eagle reported.

When police arrived at the house, a 28-year-old man who came to the front door was shot and died, Livingston said. The man hasn't been identified by police, but Lisa Finch told the newspaper that the victim was her son, Andrew Finch. She said he was unarmed and was not a gamer.

Livingston didn't say what caused the officer to shoot the man.

But Livingston told reporters at the scene that police were called to the home after being "given some misinformation." Police were expected to provide more details at a late-afternoon news conference.

Dexerto, an online news service focused on gaming, reported that the series of events began with an online argument over a $1 or $2 wager in a "Call of Duty" game on UMG Gaming, which operates online tournaments including one involving "Call of Duty."