Gang activity rumors at local Wal-Mart unsubstantiated

Posted to Police Beat by Juana Summers at 9:51 p.m., March 18, 2009

This post has been updated with more information.

Officials at the Columbia Police Department said a rumor involving the threat of a gang initiation in Columbia is unsubstantiated.

The rumors spread via Facebook messages, e-mails and text messages and said that a Columbia-based gang will have an initiation event Wednesday night that will involve shooting three women at Wal-Mart.

A dispatcher at the Columbia Police Department said that information has been coming in all day, and that it is simply a rumor. Some of the messages said the department had confirmed the information.

Similar reports have shown up in cities across the country tonight, including in Jacksonville,Fla., and Orlando, Fla., where local television stations reported via Twitter that the rumor was a hoax.