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Mobile Society, Uncategorized

Strange But True Cellular Happenings

Posted by Oliver Starr on 01.15.06 | 1 Comment

Certainly there are plenty of odd and marginally newsworthy events that happen involving cell phones. This topic could be a fun one and begs for your comments to share your own strange cellular experiences. Let me kick this off by reporting on a story that just now aired on Reuters Online Edition:

GettingTheHorseThief-ft.jpg

Boy on Horseback Brandishes Gun, Steals Phone, Gets Arrested

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (Reuters) - Brazilian police have arrested a teenager who rode a horse into a busy district of Rio de Janeiro and, brandishing a toy gun, forced a man to hand over his cell phone.

Police told Reuters on Thursday the 15-year-old had confessed he borrowed the horse from a neighbor in the Rio slum where he lives and committed the crime after being promised $20 for a phone with a camera by members of a local criminal gang.

He rode into the courtyard of a hospital in Rio’s Meier neighborhood and snatched the phone from a man waiting in line there. When police caught up with him a few blocks away, he was on foot and the horse was nowhere to be seen.

“I’ve been robbed four times in this area, but this time I was totally flabbergasted seeing a boy on horseback ordering me to give up my phone. I’ve seen robbers on bikes or on foot, but this is crazy,” Extra newspaper quoted the victim as saying.

Horses are not a common sight on Rio streets but they can sometimes be seen in the slums on the outskirts.

I’m not really sure what else to say about this one. It would have been quite the sight though. Too bad there weren’t any other fast-thinking camera phone owners in the crowd who could have snapped a few photos of all the commotion…

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