MPD says gang initiation story is a fake | News

Many Montgomerians have received an email in the past few days cautioning about an alleged incident at the Kangaroo on the Atlanta Highway, in which a young woman purportedly was accosted by two men as part of a gang initiation. This incident never occurred, and the email describing it is patently false.

The Montgomery Police Department learned of this email on Friday, Oct. 5, immediately began investigating, and determined that the incident had been fabricated. MPD examined records to learn that no 911 call had been made; reviewed the store video, which revealed there had been no such incident; and interviewed the store employees, who verified there had been no criminal activity.

Further, MPD was able to identify the alleged "victim," a 21-year-old Montgomery woman who admitted to MPD that she had made up this story. The woman told police that she lied to her mother, who then authored the email in question, alarming the Montgomery community about a crime that never occurred and was never reported to police.

Police Chief Kevin Murphy said, "Unverified reports like this, which spread like wildfire online, have no basis in fact, but they take their toll on the community and its resources. We have wasted valuable time and resources tracking a nonexistent crime and working to reassure citizens who were needlessly frightened."

The chief said no criminal charges can be filed because the alleged "victim" never filed a false police report.

Murphy cautioned against accepting urban legends as fact, even when they appear to originate from a credible source. "Any report of this nature must be verified before it can be accepted as true. If you receive any questionable information or hear something that 'really happened', please contact MPD. We are always available to find the truth and provide the facts," said Murphy.

The following is the urban legend email that details the fabricated crime: 

All –

 Just wanted to share with you an incident that took place yesterday in Montgomery, around lunch time, at the Kangaroo convenience store across from the Wal-Mart on the Atlanta Highway.  My daughter parked in front of the store (NOT at gas pumps), went inside to make a purchase and when she came out of the store, two men were standing in front of the store between the exit door and her vehicle.  She proceeded to her vehicle,  glanced back and noticed they were following her, not closely but following her none the less.  At that point she ran and jumped in her car and locked doors.   One of them came to the driver’s side door and the other went to the rear of her vehicle and stood to prevent her from being able to drive off.  The man at her door tried to get her to roll down her window by saying they were selling music CD’s.  When she refused, he asked her to give them a ride, even if it was just to her place of employment (and NO they didn’t even know where she worked).  When she refused, he began to beat on her window with his fist.  At this point she called 911.  While waiting for police to arrive, the dispatcher had her activate her alarm to try and get them away from her vehicle.  They did leave her vehicle but only went around to the side of the building where they could still see her and her them.  Not sure how much time passed but after a while, the operator  stated that police officers were 10 seconds away and told her to turn off the alarm.  When she did as instructed, the two men returned to her car and both began pulling on door handles to try and get in the vehicle.  At that point the police were there with guns drawn and arrested them both.   One of the officers told her to pass the word around -  there is a “Gang Initiation” going on and their goal is to  gain access to your car, get you out of  it, steal your vehicle with your purse and all your personal information in it.    He stated that they were targeting convenience stores and smaller stores such as Dollar General because there are times when they are without customers.  STAY AWARE OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS AND BE CAREFUL EVERYWERE, DAY AND NIGHT!!   

Information Source: Montgomery Police