Pokemon Go Claims First Death: Teen Boy Shot in Guatemala

‘He was already in bed when his cousin sent him a message asking him to go out and play the game,” his mother said.

A teenager has been shot dead in what might be the first death resulting from the augmented reality game, Pokemon Go.

According to a report by The Independent, 18-year-old Jerson Lopez de Leon was ambushed and shot while he was playing the game with his 17-year-old cousin Daniel Moises Picen. The two were searching for Pokemon on a street in Chiquimula, 120 miles from Guatemala City.

While the motive for shooting the teenager is unclear, the police suspect that the game’s location features attract users to particular spots in the city. These could be in the form of PokeStops or a general indication as to where one might find Pokemon.

The two were walking along a railway line when they were shot at. Police found almost 20 bullet casings at the scene of murder. They are looking for the occupants of an agricultural van that passed the area to ascertain what happened, according to the report.

While the connection between Pokemon Go and the death is still being established, the game has caused a lot of damage already. People have stumbled across dead bodies, been arrested for trespassing, fallen off cliffs, disrespected war memorials and been lured by armed robbers through this game.

Recently, it has been slowing down due to the cyber attacks and glitches in the server.

(Source: The Independent)

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