Sonic The Hedgehog Mask Used In Attempted Bank Robbery
A Florida resident recently attempted to rob a bank while wearing a Sonic The Hedgehog mask. Most gaming-related crimes tend to involve digital piracy of some kind, as was the case when a Nintendo hacker by the ironic name of Gary Bowser was arrested and likely sentenced to five years in prison for running an international piracy ring and reselling Nintendo Switch and Nintendo 3DS consoles on the black market for several years. Still, every once in a while, a standard burglar or bank robber takes the simple approach of donning the face of a famous gaming icon for their latest crime.
Meanwhile, Sonic The Hedgehog is currently in the midst of a possible comeback in the minds of gamers and pop-culture enthusiasts, with the live-action Sonic The Hedgehog 2 movie set to hit theaters on April 8 following the first film’s surprise success back in 2020. On the gaming front, while the recent Sonic Colors: Ultimate was met with a mixed reception from fans due to several game-breaking bugs and glitches, the upcoming Sonic Frontiers looks to shake up the classic Sonic platforming gameplay.
However, not all recent Sonic developments have been this positive, and the Blue Blur would likely not approve of what one Florida resident just attempted to do while wearing his face. The West Volusian Beacon reports that on February 2, local law enforcement was dispatched in response to an attempted bank robbery in DeLand, Florida (via Kotaku). The suspected perpetrator is believed to be male based on their voice and was dressed in a hoody and a rubber Sonic The Hedgehog mask. He entered the Florida Credit Union bank and demanded money from the bank teller, armed with a hammer that witnesses say he used to bang on the glass window in front of said teller multiple times. Another employee at the bank confronted the would-be robber, who then fled the scene before police could show up. According to Florida Credit Union assistant vice president of branch operations Brian Leatherman, the suspect left without taking any money, and nobody was hurt during the incident.
Crimes and robberies inspired by gaming are sadly nothing new. Back in 2020, several violent thefts in Toronto, Canada involved the perpetrators pretending to be online scalpers selling the newly-released PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X consoles, only to instead arrive at the suggested meeting armed. Before that, a group of O'Fallon, Missouri residents used Pokémon Go to lure victims into an armed robbery. On the reverse end of the spectrum, a pair of LAPD officers recently ignored an attempted robbery to play Pokémon Go, an action that later led to them begin removed from the force.
Thankfully no one was hurt when the suspect wearing the Sonic The Hedgehog mask attempted to rob the Florida Credit Union bank last week, but this is an unsettling story all the same. The suspect is still at large, having escaped before the police could find anything, and authorities are asking DeLand, Florida residents for any information that could lead to his potential whereabouts.
Source: The West Volusian Beacon (via Kotaku)