A Californian man has pleaded guilty to criminal charges after a swatting incident left a father of two dead last December.

On December 28th, A SWAT team was sent to 28-year-old Andrew Finch’s flat after Tyler Bariss made a prank 911 call, pretending to have just murdered his own father at Finch’s address. On arrival at his home, the team shot and killed Finch.

The address was chosen as it was the old home of a friend of Bariss’, Carey Viner. Viner, 18, was involved in a dispute with 20-year-old Shane Gaskill, who dared Viner to SWAT him during a dispute over a $1.50 Call of Duty: WW2 game bet.

Using one of Viner’s old addresses, Bariss made the 911 call on Viner’s behalf. Bariss also plead guilty to 46 false bomb threats across the US.

"Without ever stepping foot in Wichita, the defendant created a chaotic situation that quickly turned from dangerous to deadly," said US attorney Stephen McAllister.

"His reasons were trivial and his disregard for the safety of other people was staggering."

Swatting is a dangerous trend that emerged out of streaming communities that involves making phoney 911 calls to incite armed assaults by police on a target’s house.

Bariss will be sentenced on January 30th 2019, while Viner and Gaskill have denied charges and are awaiting trial.