A US filmmaker has been arrested for sending a teenager onto the street with fake grenade launcher to test police response times.
Michael Turley, 39, allegedly filmed his nephew dressed in a sheet while pointing the realistic looking weapon at passing cars.
The video, which was posted on YouTube, appears to show the fake terrorist on a busy road in Phoeniz, Arizona, for 15 minutes before police arrive.
But Phoenix Police Department spokesman James Holmes said officers were on the scene within a minute of being alerted. “They told us they were just making a movie,” Holmes told the Arizona Republic, adding that there was no arrest that day.
“We deemed it a pretty dumb action but we didn’t know what their real intent was, so we initiated an investigation.”
Turley faces charges of giving a false impression of a terrorist act, endangerment and contributing to the delinquency of his minor nephew, 16, who also faces charges.
Alligator pool parties
A Florida man is offering entertainment with a difference for children’s parties – swimming with alligators. For £100, Bob Barrett, from Tampa Bay, takes an alligator to people’s backyard pools to swim with their children.
“It just took off like wildfire,” he told the Tampa Bay Times. “Everybody loves having the gator pool parties.”
Mr Barrett, who runs the local Alligator Attraction, came up with the idea during the summer when business was slow.
“If you’re nine, ten or 11 years old, you’ve already had the ‘jumparoo’ house, the bounce house, you’ve had the pizza party, you’ve had the clown party,” he said. “You get to have a pool party with a gator. It’s a very popular party.”
Barrett tapes the alligators’ mouths shut before the parties which he insists are safe. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission confirmed he isn’t doing anything illegal, but added: “This is not something that we encourage.”
Man surfs through floods
A West Yorkshire surfing instructor has been taking advantage of the floods – by commuting to work on his surfboard. Oli Barrett hitched himself to a friend’s 4×4 and used his skills to negotiate flood affected roads in Castleford, reports Metro.
The road surfer said his unique approach to getting to work had received a positive response from members of the public.
“There were four of us and we thought we’d have a change and do some outdoor surfing,” he explained. “Me and a friend put a rope on the car and went for it. We didn’t think it would work but it worked like a dream. You don’t normally find yourself surfing along a road. A few drivers passed us smiling and giving us the thumbs up,” he added.
Boy, 4, steals mum’s car
A four-year-old boy stole his mother’s car while she slept and took it for a joy ride, before crashing into a pick-up truck.The mother was fast asleep at her home in Garsnas, Sweden, when her son took her car keys and drove off.
He managed to drive for about a quarter of a mile, successfully making three right turns, before crashing into the truck. The first his mother knew about the incident was when she was awoken by a local shopkeeper knocking at her door to bring her son home.
“When she explained that my son had been out driving the car I thought it was a terrible joke at first. I couldn’t believe it was true,” the mother told the local newspaper.
“I have no idea how he managed, he’s never driven a car before,” she added.
“I had the car keys in my jacket pocket and it was hanging so high that I thought he couldn’t reach it. But he did. Don’t ask me how, I was asleep.”
Post published in: World News