A man from Wichita, Kansas, has been shot and killed by police after a prank call saw armed police descend on his home.
Lisa Finch, mother of 28-year-old Andrew Finch, told local media her son was "murdered".
"I heard my son scream, I got up and then I heard a shot," she told the Wichita Eagle.
"What gives the cops the right to open fire? ... That cop murdered my son over a false report."
Local police said they were responding to reports of a homicide and a hostage situation - a report which turned out to be false.
Online gamers have blamed a practice called "swatting" for the incident, a hoax where someone deliberately tries to lure police to a particular address with a false report.
In this case, deputy police chief Troy Livingston said they were told of a domestic situation where someone had shot their father and was holding their mother and two siblings hostage.
Mr Livingston said Mr Finch was ordered to put his hands up when police arrived and he instead lowered his hands to his waistband. An officer feared he was reaching for a weapon and fired, he said.
Ms Finch denied that, saying her son wasn't given a verbal warning before he was shot.
"They were wrong, I cannot reiterate that enough. They did not shout a warning to him," she told CBS News.
Mr Livingston has since confirmed they believe it was a case of "swatting" and are investigating who made the false call.
"Due to the actions of a prankster, we have an innocent victim," he said.
More than a dozen players on Twitter told local media two Call of Duty players had instigated the "swatting" after a feud.
The player who was supposed to be the target reportedly gave a false address to the one who called police, sending the officers to Mr Finch's address instead, according to the Wichita Eagle.
According to CBS News, the call also said the home was a single-storey building, while Mr Finch's address had multiple storeys.
Ms Finch said her son wasn't part of the online gaming community, instead saying he "has better things to do with his time".
Newshub.
