Pokémon GO has been out for a little over two months now, and during that time, you've no doubt heard all sorts of odd events happening to trainers as they try to catch 'em all, from finding dead bodies to wandering onto a military base. Now, here's one to add to that list: someone was mugged while playing the popular mobile phone game.
To be clear, this isn't the first time someone has been mugged while playing Pokémon GO. For example, in late July, three people were robbed of their phones at gunpoint at London's Whittington Park. However, what makes this latest case unique is that the event occurred during a Twitch live stream, so all of the player's viewers (and now, everyone else thanks to it being recorded) have a front-row seat.
The victim, Rickeybot, took to Twitter shortly after the incident to reveal what happened.
I got mugged playing Pokémon GO in Central Park. Still talking to police and will go to hospital soon. My jaw is a mess. Thanks all.
— rickeybot (@rickeybot) September 19, 2016
Apparently, Rickeybot was playing Pokémon GO near Cental Park at around midnight when the suspect, who you can see in the video creeping up behind him, punched Rickeybot in the face before taking his phone.
After the mugging, the assailant fled into the park and soon disabled the phone, cutting off the stream and preventing him from being actively tracked. Fortunately, his face was already caught on camera, and many on the internet have already taken it upon themselves to post high-quality and lightened images to help police identify and ultimately catch the attacker.
For now, it doesn't seem like there has been any progress, and the suspect still remains on the loose.
Let this be incident serve as a lesson for you trainers: even though all the action takes place on screen, there is still plenty going on around you. If you aren't aware of your surroundings, then it's easy for someone with ill intentions to steal your belongings. This is especially true at night — shady areas in particular — when you're by yourself and carrying around several hundred dollars' worth of equipment for everyone to see.
Unfortunately, Rickeybot had to learn this the hard way. Hopefully, he recovers quickly and the suspect is promptly apprehended.
