A BritishPokemon GOplayer was beaten by a group of teenagers while playing the popular mobile game near Canterbury, Southeast England. The incident took place last week at a park just outside the city limits. Local media reports that up to eight people had ganged up on one Mark Fernyhough after taking issue with his and his girlfriend’s choice of a bench on which to playPokemon GO.
As one of the most popular games ever made that’s available to anyone with a smartphone,Pokemon GOhas featured in a fair bit of crime reports since releasing in 2016. Over the years, the game led to everything from trespassing and drug busts to land right disputes and physical altercations. Such incidents occasionally revolve around the game itself, like when a71-year-oldPokemon GOplayer was arrested for assaultalong with his son following an argument with another player whom they accused of cheating. But mostPokemon GO-playing crime victims simply have the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, which is also what seems to have been the case here.
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According to an account from Fernyhough’s girlfriend, Tasha Feuchuk, the duo was playingPokemon GOon a bench in the middle of the Sturry Recreation Ground park when they were approached by a group of between six and eight teenagers, one of which yelled “Oi that’s where we sit.” As she started to leave, she saw Fernyhough was not next to her, only to realize he was cornered against some park equipment by the group and that one of the members was hitting his head “with something.”
They managed to leave the park and call the police after a brief struggle to get loose. The officers drove Fernyhough to a nearby emergency room, where he was diagnosed with several minor head injuries and had his head stapled. Local authorities confirmed they are looking into the matter. Historically, BritishPokemon GOplayers were more likely toget fined over breaking lockdown rulesthan assaulted in a public place for any reason.
But the UK is also one of the safest countries in the world when it comes to street crime. Across the pond, there have been multiplecases ofPokemon GOplayers getting killedwhile looking for pocket monsters in the wild.
The franchise itself is so ubiquitous that somePokemon-related crime is committed by the unlikeliest of perpetrators. In one such recent case, a Kansas policeofficer was discharged over aPokemoncard scam.
Pokemon GOis available now on Android and iOS devices.
