INQUISITR.COM / News & Politics

Louisville Purge Has Social Media Claiming People In Masks, Shootings, Threats By Gangs

By Patrick Frye
Published on: 13:39 PST, Aug 15, 2014

The so-called Louisville purge was supposed to have begun at 8 PM EST and will stretch on into the morning at 6:30 AM. The vast majority of people assumed it was all one big hoax intended as a joke, but now some on social media are claiming local reports have seen some instances of people wearing purge masks and even threats by gangs.

In a related report by The Inquisitr, the idea behind a real life purge started when a photo using the description “Louisville’s the Purge” spread like wildfire on Facebook and Twitter. Rumors even began claiming that a Detroit purge may be in the works in addition to a Louisville purge. A spokesman for the Louisville Metro Police Department claimed they were taking the possibility of a Louisville purge very seriously.

Before we begin listing what is being claimed on social media, it should be noted that the student who started the Louisville purge rumor did not intend on starting a panic. It should also be pointed out that police will be watching social media for anyone who reports or makes threats about the supposed real life purge. Making a false claim about a crime occurring in the city could be likened to the famous example of falsely shouting “fire” in a crowded theater. Encouraging fears and panic by tweeting rumors or falsehoods is not funny.

Even if the Louisville purge started as a joke, at least two individuals took the idea way too seriously according to this Twitter tweet:

At least one person claims to have “listened” to this actual police report locally:

This same person also claims to have heard reports about other crimes:

There’s even reports over shootings related to the Louisville purge:

Another Twitter user claims a man is roaming around threatening to chop off people’s fingers. When the person was asked if these were just rumors, she replied that it was “real” and like other Twitter users, claimed she’d heard others stores from “a police news radio thing for Louisville.” Others dismissed the claim, saying it was “fairly normal for a Friday” and others blamed it on “drunken brawls all over the country tonight.”

There’s also reports of car accidents related to the supposed real life purge, and it’s said gangs are in the streets:

The possibility that a real life purge could be started by an internet rumor has some people claiming the movie industry should be more responsible:

At least one man makes the good point that reports of crime tonight may have nothing to do with the purge hoax:

As of this writing, none of the claims about the so-called Louisville purge have been substantiated by police or public reports.

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