Walmart Gang Initiation Warning a Hoax

(myFOXla.com) - An e-mail warning that women at Walmart stores could be killed as part of a gang initiation, which is actually just a hoax, is making the rounds all over the country.

Here in Southern California, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department alerted deputies in a countywide general broadcast that Internet-based rumors concerning a possible gang initiation in which women are indiscriminately selected to be killed outside Walmarts have no credibility, said Sgt. Dennis Gutierrez.

"We take everything very seriously until we can evaluate what the issue is," he said.

After receiving information from Murrieta police indicating the e-mail messages were part of an urban myth started four years ago, the sheriff's department made sure personnel knew in case any calls came in on the subject, Gutierrez said.

Police agencies in Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Missouri and Texas have received calls from concerned citizens. Delaware State Police apparently were inundated with calls.

The threatening emails were first circulated in the Memphis area in 2005, according to Snopes.com , a Web site that tracks urban legends.

A similar rumor circulated earlier in the day regarding a Walmart in the Santa Clarita area, which Los Angeles County sheriff's officials also deemed a hoax.