By Chris Brown

Posted throughout North America

Facebook post claiming attacks debunked

Jul 6, 2022 | 11:54 AM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Police have responded to a post circulating on local social media pages in the past week claiming two men have been attacking people in Medicine Hat.

The post claims that two men attacked a 33-year-old single mom with a knife and left her struggling for her life. According to the post, the unknown men tell people they are homeless, ask for help and then attack.

Medicine Hat Police Service has received several inquiries about the post.

“The MHPS has not received any reports of an event matching this description,” say police in a Facebook post. “Upon further investigation, it was found that similar reports have been circulating online in communities across North America over the past couple of weeks, with the location and photos of the men changing periodically.”

Police want people to think before posting or sharing such information online.

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“The MHPS would like to remind everyone of the importance of verifying information before posting or sharing anything that could cause unnecessary alarm to the community and would also like to thank those individuals who did reach out to us directly to make us aware of the post and asked for confirmation of the information.”

The same post has been circulating on “buy and sell” social media pages in various U.S. states and Ireland.

A similar since-debunked post claiming a grandmother and her dog have gone missing after their regular walk has also made the rounds on social media.