Important Warning!!!

This is TRUE unfortunatley...please advise your loved one's.

Sherri

> -----Original Message-----
 

> From: Hertez, Sherri R. CPT [SMTP:HertezS_at_usfk.korea.army.mil]
 

> Sent: Sunday, January 17, 1999 11:07 PM
 

>
 

> Sherri Hertez
 

> CPT, FA
 
> Chief, G3 Plans
 

> 732-7829/7300
 

> FAX 732-7567
 
> email: hertezs_at_usfk.korea.army.mil

PLease pass this on to EVERYONE you know.

IMPORTANT WARNING!!! It has come to our attention that a new "fad" has been sweeping through the younger generation in the form of a "gang initiation." Apparantly, groups of teenagers, in a quest for acceptance among their peers, have been hanging around shopping mall parking lots and injecting nitroglycerine into the locks of car doors while the owner(s) of the vehicle are inside the mall. Once the owner returns (well after the teens have had a chance to get safely away) and attempts to unlock the vehicle, a violent explosion occurs.

As you know, nitroglycerine is a highly expolsive and unstable liquid that, when jostled, can cause tremendous explosive force. When inserted into a car door lock, it seeps into the locking mechanism, awaiting even the slightest percussive shock. Fortunately, nitroglycerine also has a high rate of evaporation, and will become relatively inert in a matter of hours.

In Orlando alone, already two people have lost limbs, and one has been blinded by this dangerous "prank." One woman had her hand so severely damaged in a blast that it took 7 hours of reconstructive surgery for her to regain even partial use of the mangled appendage. We have received word from police departments as far away as Seattle and (ironically) Oklahoma City of the occurence of similar incidents.

It is important to note that these attacks do not seem to follow any predefined pattern. None of the victims interviewed so far have reported having had contact with their attackers before the incidents occured. The explosions appear to be random in nature. It is therefore our duty to warn all upstanding citizens to PLEASE be alert when parking your car at a shopping mall, and ESPECIALLY to check your car doors when you return BEFORE inserting your key into the lock. If you notice any kind of viscous liquid around the locks (either driver or passenger), or any younger people loitering a distance away from your car, exercise EXTREME CAUTION when attempting to unlock your vehicle.

Seargent Christopher Atkins

Orlando Municipal Special Invstigations Team

Orlando Police Dept. Received on Fri Mar 26 1999 - 00:00:00 CET