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Hoax email suggests gang initiation at Wal-mart

Reported by: Brent Solomon
Email: bsolomon@fox16.com
Last Update: 3/20/2009 8:33 am
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Emails and text messages over a possible shooting at Wal-Mart continue to circulate. Although states everywhere are seeing this message, area investigators say it could've popped up here due to a recent Facebook fight between high school students.

If you haven't seen or received the message yet, chances are someone you know already has. The phone calls and emails poured in to FOX16 with people questioning several warnings for women not to visit Wal-Mart because gang members are looking for victims. Then, the rumors escalated saying someone actually did get shot.

"We don't have anything to substantiate that whatsoever,” says Steve Burroughs with the FBI.

He works with the Little Rock metro's gang task force. 

“Little Rock has gangs, as well as other cities around Arkansas,” he admitted.  Burroughs also added that his group hasn’t seen any unusual activity or spike in gang behavior.
 
So why is this fake message flooding our cell phones and computer screens? Snopes.com lists it as an urban legend dating back to 2005.

"It's very easy for all of us to be susceptible to urban legends or myths because they come from people we know and they're told about people they know," says Associate Sociology Professor Sara Beth Estes.

She says people create urban legends usually to promote a message they believe in.

"Morality tales or guides for living. That's really what's going on in many of them. Ways to behave and not to behave,” she points out.

In this case, it was intended to scare people from shopping at Wal-Mart.

"We don't feel like it's reason for alarm," Burroughs said.

Thursday, Jefferson County Sheriff's officials told us they were stepping up security at Wal-Marts there just in case.

Wal-Mart officials issued a statement saying they are aware of the message and are enhancing security. The company says it takes these types of situations seriously, but regards this one as just a rumor.

Experts say you can identify urban legends usually because the person who started the story is described as a friend of a friend, rather than someone you know personally. Also, many urban legends repeat the same story content over years, but slightly change the details. The biggest giveaway is these messages often encourage you to spread it to as many people as you can.
Copyright 2009 Newport Television LLC All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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