Pokémon Go Claims Its First Death As One Teenager Killed And Another Seriously Injured While Playing
Two young teenagers in Guatemala were fired upon in a violent attack while playing Pokémon Go. Police are blaming the game for the incident, making it the first death as a result of the pop-culture phenomenon.
As News.com.au reports, Jerson Lopez was tragically gunned down when he and his cousin were walking along a railroad, 200km from Guatemala City. The 17 year old was pronounced dead on the scene and his cousin Daniel Moises, 18, suffered serious wounds and is currently in hospital. It’s being reported that nearly 20 bullets were fired at the young teenagers in a horribly violent and unprovoked attack. Yet police are blaming Pokemon Go for causing all this.
If you have indeed been living under a rock for the past fortnight, the hugely popular smartphone game encourages players to walk around their city, with different creatures appearing in certain areas (ie. water creatures near water, electric creatures near power stations etc).
By venturing in to different locations, players are more likely to find a more diverse mix of animated creatures to catch. It’s believed the young men had ventured in a dangerous neighbourhood in the hope of discovering new Pokémon.
The victim’s mother, Rosalinda told the Independent newspaper that she wished her son never left the house to play Pokemon Go. In explaining her heartbreak, she said:
“I don’t know why my son left the house”
“He was already in bed when his cousin sent him a message asking him to go out and download a game a few blocks from the house.”
Right now, it’s not known what provoked the gunman, but police are pointing the finger at the smartphone game for causing their deaths because it encouraged them to leave home and venture in to the area.
Although we’re no experts on the social climate of Guatemala, we reckon it’s a bit of a cop-out to deem the game responsible for getting the kids out of the house. Surely an unprovoked violent gunman that fired 20 bullets in to two young teenage boys should take some responsibility for this, right?