‘Pokémon GO’ Shooting: 20-Year-Old Man Shot While Playing The Game In San Francisco


Calvin Riley was shot in the torso while playing Pokémon GO at a Pokémon stop last Saturday night at Aquatic Park near San Francisco’s Ghiradelli Square. The shooting attack happened just before 10 p.m. Riley was medically treated on the scene, and he did survive the attack.

There isn’t any evidence as of yet if the shooting had anything to do with the popular Pokémon GO app and appears to be random, says family friend John Kirby.

According to News Channel 10, Riley was playing Pokémon GO with a friend when someone came up from behind, shot him and then ran off. Kirby said that Riley and his friend had noticed someone watching them from on top a hill, but they disregarded it since it was dark and they were more focused looking for Pokémon characters with their phones.

“From what we know, there was no confrontation,” Kirby said. “There was nothing said back and forth. It was just senseless, just came up and shot in the back and ran away for nothing.”

According to Sgt. Robert Jansing, the gunman didn’t take any of Riley’s belongings or tried to rob him. As of yet, no suspect has been identified, but National Park Service spokesman, Lynn Cullivan, believes that some witnesses must have seen the shooting since that attack happened when the area was bustling with tourists. Unfortunately, the area has no surveillance cameras in the area where Riley was shot, so authorities are asking for the public’s help with the matter.

Calvin’s family had recently moved from Massachusetts to the Bay Area.

“For no reason, he was just shot for no reason. Calvin is one of the most sincere, honest, nicest person anyone could ever meet I don’t know why it would happen to him,” friend Asher Abuelrous told CBS Local San Francisco.


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While this shooting provides a new wrinkle to the concerns of playing Pokémon GO, players are having enough trouble keeping safe playing the game. Numerous teens are getting themselves in auto accidents while playing Pokémon GO as well. According to NewsPlex, distracted driving is the number one cause of driving deaths for teens and the app is just creating that many more distractions.

“Pokémon GO is a game. Driving is not a game, and combining the two can have deadly consequences. Distracted driving is already a problem across the nation,” said Martha Meade the Manager of Public and Government Affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic.

“You see that rare Bulbasaur and you panic because you want to get it and your mind completely goes off what you are doing,” added Meade.

Meade believes that part of the problem is the competitiveness of the game and pointed out that science proves that each time one finds a Pokémon, your brain gets a shot of Dopamine.

“We know scientifically that when you get a text, hear the text message sound, or get an email, or hopefully you don’t have your phone on but see that rare Bulbasaur or Pokemon behind the wheel, you get a shot of Dopamine. So scientifically, you’re being rewarded for that.”

Despite what others tell you, you don’t have to catch them all.

[Photo by Tomohiru Oshumi/Getty Images]

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