Police: Wal-Mart shooting text message a hoax

Yuma police said Thursday that a text message warning of gang violence at a local Wal-Mart is nothing but a fake.

"There is no truth behind it," said Officer Clint Norred, spokesman for the Yuma Police Department. "Anyone who receives this text should delete it."

Norred said the text message warned people to stay away from Wal-Mart on Wednesday evening because a gang initiation was going to take place there that involved shooting women.

The text message also said the threat had been confirmed by Yuma police, but Norred said that claim was also untrue.

"This same message has been circulating for years, so I believe it was altered to fit our community," Norred said. "It provides a very vague description of the event."

Snopes.com, a debunker of urban myths, says the fake message first appeared in 2005.

The e-mail did not name a specific Wal-Mart, Norred said, but added that police have received calls from numerous people in Yuma who have received the message.

He added that it is similar to the fake Amber Alert that was sent out about two months ago.

Norred suggested that people who receive text messages such as this one in the future to verify the validity of them before forwarding them on to other people.

"All that does is continue to perpetuate the incorrect information," Norred said.
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James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun.com or 539-6854.