Fax machines throughout the state continued spitting out warnings Friday with rumors about gang initiation rites.
Although the rumors are a hoax, police worry that the widespread fear may prompt copycat gangsters to capitalize on the frenzy and they warn that residents should take precautions.The faxes announced "Blood Initiation Weekend" and indicated that potential gang members are supposed to drive around with their lights off. To be accepted into a gang, these drivers are supposed to shoot and kill everyone in the first car that does a courtesy flash to warn them that their lights are off.
The length and breadth of the rumor is nothing short of incredible.
Other states that have reported public concern about the issue include Arizona, Texas, Oregon, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Minnesota, Illinois, Mississippi and Tennessee.
In Utah, the bogus faxes were passed out seemingly everywhere, including to customers at one Bountiful bank and to employees at several hospitals throughout Utah and Salt Lake counties. They were posted on bulletin boards and passed along to friends and family members all over the state, becoming the topic of conversation virtually everywhere.
At least six radio stations received similar faxes and broadcast the rumors to their listeners Friday morning.
"Once it hit the radios, that's when an explosion of calls came into the office," said Salt Lake County sheriff's spokesman Rod Norton.
Mortgage companies, construction companies, government agencies and dozens of other businesses were wrapped up in the frenzy, he said.
"I've had all varieties of companies calling," Norton said. "My phone has not stopped. I have not been off it for 30 seconds."
Police dispatchers throughout the valley have also fielded hundreds of calls from concerned citizens. "The phones are ringing steady about it. We're talking to people right now," said one Salt Lake police dispatcher. "It's cranking full force."
But while the rumor started only as a hoax, police are still warning that people should not flash their lights on other cars to let them know their lights are off or on.
"We believe it unequivocably to be a hoax, but we now must warn the public to be aware of copycats," Norton said.
"We want to still caution the citizens because some little gangster will pick up on this and think it's a good idea," said Salt Lake Police Lt. Jim Bell.
The original fax is believed to have come from Sacramento or San Bernardino, Calif. Norton said the hoax note was faxed into a billboard computer system and sent to several major companies. "Then it went from employee to family to friends to general hysteria in the communities," he said.
Police in San Bernardino investigated the source of the rumor and determined that the information had been in existence for about a month. The rumor had been spreading to cities throughout the Western United States.
"I think this rumor, had it occurred a couple of months ago, would never have come out of the chute" in Utah, Norton said, explaining that recent publicity over gang-related issues has generated undue alarm.
Just last week, rumors were rampant that local gangs were raping cheerleaders as part of their initiations. Such rumors were also false, but they still concerned law-enforcement officers because the talk was so widespread.
Norton cautioned that businesses who receive such kinds of information should verify it with police authorities before passing it along.
"Otherwise it alarms the public and our community to a degree that it's very difficult to manage," he said.