Pokemon Go has been out for a week and it has caused some serious carnage around the world
A TEENAGER has been hit by a car, a man has been stabbed and two people have fallen off a cliff. The Pokemon Go carnage keeps getting worse.
YOU thought the Pokemon Go madness was going to cease, but it’s only just beginning.
It has been a whirlwind week since the game was released and the world has seen some serious carnage as a result.
A 15-year-old from Pennsylvania was hit by a car this week after playing Pokemon Go and hospitalised for injuries to her collarbone and foot; plus numerous cuts and bruises.
Her mother, Tracy Nolan, told local news she thought the game was highly dangerous.
“The Pokemon game took her across a major highway at 5 o’clock in the evening, which is rush hour,” she told WXPI.
“Parents, don’t let your kids play this game because you don’t want to go through what I went through last night. I really thought I was losing my daughter.”
Oregon resident Michael Baker said he was in a violent altercation approaching another man he thought was playing the game in a neighbourhood at 1am.
“I saw him go by and asked if he was playing Pokemon Go. He was like, ‘What?’ I guess he wanted to battle because he came up at me with a knife,” he told Fox News.
The 21-year-old said he was stabbed in the shoulder and received eight stitches, but didn’t go the hospital straight away as he wasn’t done playing Pokemon Go.
“Right after I was stabbed, I continued my mission,” he said. “It’s important to me. I gotta basically catch them all.”
While not injured, two 17-year-old P-plate drivers were fined after allegedly being caught playing the game while driving in Sydney’s Cabramatta.
NSW Police took the opportunity to warn drivers of the fine and penalty on Twitter following the incident.
What do you get when you mix driving & Pokémon Go? $325 and 4 Demerit Points. Police detect 2 drivers in 1 hour. pic.twitter.com/PaIwIRVCa5
â NSW Police (@nswpolice) July 14, 2016
According toThe Guardian, two Pokemon Go players were threatened at gunpoint while playing the game at a skate park south of Sydney.
It is alleged two men wearing balaclavas used their ute to stop the couple from exiting the car park before threatening the pair with a rifle.
Police said there was no suggestion the men used PokemonGo to lure people to the area and both left empty-handed.
These incidents come as two men fell off a cliff in California while engaged in Pokemon Go.
One of the men landed on a ledge 15m below the cliff, while the other fell all the way to the beach 24m below the bluff.
Encinitas Fire and Marine safety responded to the accident, which needed ropes and harnesses to complete the rescue.
“Both patients were transported to Scripps La Jolla Trauma Center with moderate injuries,” a statement read.
A number of other less serious injuries have also been mentioned by Pokemon Go players on social media.
Spent so long playing #pokemongo this weekend my skin is blistered due to sunburn ... Oops ! Don't forget your SUNCREAM ððð©ð©ðð»
â G L A M Z (@nyst_glamz) July 10, 2016
Less than one day of having #PokemonGo and I already injured myself by tripping over a cinder block. ð
â Lindsay (@cupcakelindsay) July 8, 2016
Since Pokemon go came out, I've walked 14 miles, caught 46 types of pokemon, got a rash on my thighs, and got a terrible sunburn
â #pokeburned (@drakejdixon) July 10, 2016
Saw my first #PokemonGo injury today. But at least the kid got hurt running around, not on the couch where she'd been all summer long.
â Deborah Greenhouse (@greenhousemd) July 13, 2016
I had my first #PokemonGO related injury today. Walked right into a window screen. It's ok though, I caught that Growlithe.
â Julie Rei Goldstein (@JulieRei) July 12, 2016
Injuries and dangerous driving aside, Pokemon Go has also attracted religious authorities speaking out about the highly popular mobile game.
The deputy chief of Egypt’s top Islamic institution al-Azhar claimed playing the game is as illicit as drinking alcohol and is “prohibited” by Islam.
Abbas Shouman said he fears people will become addicted to the game, which will result in them neglecting work and worship
“It negatively influences the mind and harms the player or others without being aware of that,” he told About Croatia.
Radio show host and pastor Rick Wiles had some wild concepts in regards to the negative effects of the game.
“The enemy, Satan, is targeting churches with virtual, digital, cyber demons. I believe this is a magnet for demonic powers,” he said on his radio program.
The pastor said he holds fears Islamic jihadists will use the technology to develop an app to show where Christians are located geographically.
“They’re spawning demons inside your church. They’re targeting your church with demonic activity. This technology will be used by the enemies of the cross to target, locate, and execute Christians.”
This comes after Monday’s news of 11 people robbed at gun point, the discovery of a dead body, a broken foot and a string of cuts and bruises.
As the week progressed, there were complaints over the dubious locations used as PokeGyms — namely a Hells Angels headquarters, methadone clinic and the private homes of people.
This isn’t to mention NSW Police being called to the waterside suburb of Rhodes after more than 300 Pokemon players were waterbombed by residents, the NSW Department of Justice warned the public not to enter the courts while playing the game and sensitive sites such a memorials and museums also issuing warnings.
Additionally, the augmented reality game has caused its first car crash and been responsible for a lady getting locked inside a cemetery.
Continue the conversation on Twitter @mattydunn11