GTA blamed for false bomb threat
An American man, who allegedly told a co-worker at a restaurant there was a bomb in the building, now claims that he was simply telling a friend in the same room how to play Grand Theft Auto...
Grand Theft Auto is in court again, although not - for once - as the defendant. Instead, this month an American man is claiming that the false "bomb threat" he is alleged to have shouted down the telephone at a co-worker was simply an instruction yelled at somebody else playing GTA in the same room.
According to the Florida Times-Union, the man was on the phone to a co-worker at the restaurant where he was a cook when he said, "There's a bomb in the building. There's a bomb in the building. Everyone needs to get out!"
His co-worker was somewhat worried at that, and the restaurant night manager rang police, leading to an evacuation and search of the restaurant by bomb disposal experts, who naturally found nothing.
The man in question was subsequently arrested on a charge of making a false report about planting a bomb or explosive, which could see him locked up for as long as 15 years. He's in jail at the moment in lieu of $5,003 bail.
However his defence in this case is somewhat unorthodox - he's claiming that while he was on the phone he was also offering instructions to a child playing Grand Theft Auto in the same room, and that his instructions were simply misinterpreted by the chap on the other end of the phone.
It'll be interesting to see how his case turns out, and we certainly have a number of questions - most notably, where exactly in Grand Theft Auto 1, 2, 3 or Vice City would "There's a bomb in the building. Everyone needs to get out!" make even the slightest bit of sense as in instruction?
The case continues...