Pokemon Go has taken over the globe, uniting people of all ages and backgrounds in their quests to become Pokemon masters. It’s a fun game that ties together exercising and nostalgia for the games we played as children.
Not everything is all fun and games, though.
Pokemon Go is no stranger to bad news reports. The app is linked with car accidents, stabbings, and armed robberies. This time, it’s another case of the latter when a gunfight broke out in a Las Vegas park last Monday.
After spending the evening robbing Pokemon Go players, 18-year-old Elvis Campos was arrested with attempted murder charges. The teen had camped out in Gary Reese Freedom Park, a local Pokemon hotspot, waiting for players to walk through.
He was successful until his last victim fought back.
The man is a concealed weapon carrier and immediately fired his gun at Campos, striking him several times. Campos returned fire with his own gun before fleeing the scene. It’s unknown whether Campos showed his gun prior to being shot at, or if he pulled it out after.
His bail is set at $95,000. He will be arraigned on August 11 for attempted murder, conspiracy, robbery, battery, and assault with a deadly weapon.
Police: Teen faces robbery count in shootout with Pokemon Go playerhttps://t.co/szqPdUfhuV pic.twitter.com/omb78N1zot
— Las Vegas Sun (@LasVegasSun) July 26, 2016
Why This Park?
According to several Pokemon Go Facebook pages, the park may be home to Magikarp, a rare Pokemon to find in the desert. In order for a player to evolve their Magikarp into the powerful Gyarados, they have to catch over one hundred of the fish creatures, making this park a huge go-to spot.
The game uses your phone’s GPS to send players out into the world to catch Pokemon who appear while they’re walking. The app is also engineered to spawn Pokemon who would live in the climate you’re in. This makes it nearly impossible to find these water-type creatures in the Vegas area.
For those of you who are wondering, here is a video of a Magikarp evolution into the powerful Gyarados.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2M60815ihQ
Image is a YouTube screengrab.