Hoax targets Wal-Mart stores

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department took the unusual step Thursday afternoon of issuing a statement to try to stamp out a rumor that gang-initiation killings were planned at local Wal-Mart stores.

“These rumors, which have become widespread in San Diego County, are false,” the department announced after dozens of panicky calls from would-be shoppers were received at the department’s communications center.

The Wal-Mart-gang killing rumor, apparently fed by the Internet, has surfaced in numerous communities across the country in recent days. Sheriff’s Department officials contacted other local police agencies and found “no intelligence to corroborate” the rumor, the department said.

-- Tony Perry

Comments

[Josh]

Even though this individual threat turned out to be a hoax, the overall threat is NOT over at all:

My analysis here: http://www.corruptionoflol.com/?p=46

[Cecilie]

That's Crazy, I just heard about that like two hours ago, and I live in Kentucky.

[APRIL Casillas]

o crap now i am scared to go to the walmart

[kim]

that probably gave some gang a idea. it just not safe any
place or time.day or night people getting shot. what happened to old fashion fist fight. that it the man to man thing.

[Jason]

I work at a Walmart store in the greater Seattle, WA area and this is floating around our area too. It started off yesterday as a forwarded text message and gradually throughout the afternoon a lot of my co-workers started getting calls from concerned family members and friends. By 2pm we had a store meeting about it but other than that it's been business as usual. One of our local police departments also issued a statement debunking it.

[rudenski]

My daughter was robbed in a Walmart Parking lot with my grandson in the car. Her I.D. and the vehicle that the robbers were in showed up at a community college in town. It seemed rather gang related to me. Perhaps their is more truth to the so called "hoax" than meets the eye?