Well that escalated quickly. One minute we were chuckling over the guy who caught a Pidgey while his wife was waiting to give birth and now people are using Pokemon Go for despicable purposes. As reported by the Guardian, armed robbers in O'Fallon in Missouri have been using the iOS and Android app to target unwary Pokemon trainers in secluded locations. A report of a robbery led police to four 16-18 year olds who were in a vehicle in a car park and trying to get rid of a handgun.
The four are suspected to also be responsible for a number of other armed robberies in the counties of St Louis and St Charles. “Using the geolocation feature, the robbers were able to anticipate the location and level of seclusion of unwitting victims,” says Sgt Bill Stringer. The robbers have have been utilising the game's Pokestop feature meaning landmarks, churches and other places of interest are labelled on your map. Head there and spin the Pokemon logo and you'll collect much needed items. The four had obviously picked a secluded Pokestop and waited for victims. They've been charged with first degree robbery.
Other Pokemon Go news from over the weekend saw a girl hunting for water Pokemon by a river, only to find a dead body in the water. Shayla Wiggins in Wyoming had jumped a fence to get better access but found a man's corpse. "I was trying to get a Pokémon from a natural water resource," she told County 10 news. "I was walking towards the bridge along the shore when I saw something in the water. I had to take a second look and I realised it was a body." The man has not been identified.
But things aren't all doom and err, Gloom, people are coming together across the world to play and not rob each other and it's pretty incredible.
Pokemon GO is just insane right now. This is in Central Park. It's basically been HQ for Pokemon GO. pic.twitter.com/3v2VfEHzNAJuly 11, 2016
I literally don't know any of these people. we all just met at a pokestop trying to catch an Eevee. #PokemonGO pic.twitter.com/2a5QsczdfpJuly 10, 2016
The app is still on its way to the UK and studio Niantic announced that it will continue rolling it out across to new countries "soon." As expected, the servers have been in crisis mode and Niantic has been working on the issues. The madness will presumably continue this week. Stay aware of your surroundings, trainers.
Thank you for your patience. We have been working to fix the server issues. We will continue rolling out #PokemonGO to new countries soon.July 8, 2016
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