It's OK to go to Wal-Mart. There won't be a shooting.
The Ball State University Police Department heard about text messages being sent to students about a gang-related shooting at Wal-Mart, Bob Fey, associate director of public safety, said. The messages are a hoax, Fey said.
"Something like this comes up every now and then," he said. "I recall one similar to it about six months ago."
Student employees at the police department first mentioned the text messages last week, he said.
The hoax spanned across the U.S., reaching as far away as Hawaii, the Star Bulletin in Honolulu reported.
Wal-Mart has attributed the hoax to one that began via e-mail in 2005, according to a press release from the company.
According to online myth buster Snopes.com, the "Wal-Martyred" urban myth began near Memphis, Tenn., in July of 2005.
Pranksters sent out e-mails warning of planned shootings at Wal-Marts and other big box stores, but no murders were ever reported nor were there any confessions about the plot. Memphis police dismissed the rumors, according to the Web site.
Deb Howell, senior systems security communications manager, said University Computing Services has not received any reports of the message appearing in students' e-mail inboxes.
"Generally people just know [the messages are a hoax]," Howell said. "Look before taking anything to heart."
Students who receive the false message don't need to report it and should delete it, Howell said.
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