The mannequin challenge is the latest internet trend, but recently a viral video of a drive-by shooting, showing 19 men — mostly armed with guns — posing in a frozen position at an Alabama residence, led to several arrests for guns and drugs, according to the Daily Mail .
In November of this year, a mannequin challenge video of a drive-by shooting went viral, with more than 85,000 shares and over 4 million views. The video depicts at least two dozen gun-wielding men standing in a frozen position in front of a Huntsville home on 5012 Powell Drive.
A concerned citizen sent the mannequin challenge video to the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, who conducted an investigation. It was later uncovered that the house was being used to sell marijuana, prompting police to acquire a search warrant.
Whoops! Shootout-themed mannequin challenge leads to gun and drug arrests https://t.co/OUI8JQfiEl pic.twitter.com/QFpZiDkSMJ
— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) December 6, 2016
Early Tuesday morning, police arrived at the resident while six people were inside, including four children, and busted the door in. Two men were arrested after finding “two handguns, one assault rifle, one older single barrel shotgun, multiple packs of marijuana, an attack vest, multiple magazines for the assault rifle, multiple rounds of ammunition and a computer.”
It was reported that a marijuana grinder was also located at the resident. And police say there were several items behind the house that looked suspicious, but it was later uncovered that the residents purchased the items legally.
A 49-year-old man, Kenneth White, was arrested on charges of “possession of marijuana and certain persons forbidden to possess a firearm.” His bond was set at $30,000.
Terry Brown, 23, was also taken into custody during the police raid, and he was charged with “drug paraphernalia. However, police later added a charge, “loitering and promoting prison contraband,” after learning that he was in possession of marijuana. He is being held on a $3,800 bond.
It was not immediately made clear if Brown and White have attorneys.
In regard to Brown’s contraband charge, Capt. Mike Salomonsky said, “Upon his arrival at the main facility after his incarceration, he was found to have marijuana on his person. So that brought about the additional charge which is a felony on him.”
“There are several persons in the video who may be convicted felons. So, we’re going to try to do some identification, work with the ATF and see if we can generate any charges out of that.”
“We used a breaching technique which caused the front door to be removed from the residence,” Salomonsky added. “They encountered one subject that was in the front room and he was armed. But, he told them he was armed.”
The Latest Mannequin Challenge Is a Drive-By Shooting. It Led to Arrests https://t.co/9NJPnuVtSF pic.twitter.com/DPoiE03cHU
— kilokeal (@kilokeal) December 7, 2016
When police officials were first made aware of the viral mannequin challenge video , Salomonsky said, “You have a lot of people with firearms at one address. And you have to ask yourself the question, ‘Why?’ and the second question you have to ask yourself: is it a public safety issue?”
When social media users learned that a viral mannequin challenge video led to several arrests, they were stunned.
However, Elizabeth Owolabi wrote the following in a Facebook post, “Well, when you post a picture or video of yourself with a gun, number one: make sure you’re not a felon. Number two: make sure that the gun you are wielding is legally yours. Number three: be aware that a post that goes viral with guns involved is most likely going to be researched by the police.”
“I’m sorry, I hate to be Captain Obvious here, but stupid is as stupid does and why is this type of thing glorified anyways? We can do better.”
As the investigation continues, Alabama police officials expect to make more drug and gun-related arrests.
[Featured Image By Kali9/iStock]
