PITTSFIELD, Mass. — An e-mail warning of gang-member wannabees planning to slice up women's faces in Pittsfield is an apparent hoax, say police.
"There's no credible information that there's any truth behind it," said Pittsfield Police Sgt. Mark Trapani on Friday. "It supposedly said it was from us ... that's not true."
The e-mail purports to be from a "reliable source" and says gang initiations were to occur over the next few weeks in the areas around the Big Y, the Berkshire Mall, Walmart and the Pittsfield Common. Women are warned to retreat from anyone offering them a "buck fifty," supposedly a reference to a knife slash that requires 150 stitches.
A similar message says the report was from the Berkshire County Sheriff's office, but a supervisor there called it "bogus."
The e-mail appears similar to another message making the rounds more than a week ago, saying Pittsfield Police officer had warned the sender of a violent act to be committed at the local Walmart. There have been several incidents at the store, including a man who smashed up television sets in a rage over being unemployed. But that occurred five days before police warned of the hoax e-mail on April 29.
Pittsfield residents can check www.citizenobserver.com for updates and alerts from Pittsfield Police.
Your Comments
iBerkshires.com welcomes critical, respectful dialogue. Name-calling, personal attacks, libel, slander or foul language is not allowed. All comments are reviewed before posting and will be deleted or edited as necessary.
Comments are closed for this article. If you would like to contribute information on this article, e-mail us at info@iBerkshires.com
I have recieved many text messages warning of this. Glad to hear it is a hoax.....lets hope this doesn't give anyone any ideas!!!
