Police: Several Robbed Playing Pokemon Go In Parkville

Pokemon Go allows players to find and catch Pokemon around the office or around the neighborhood. Credit: Tyler Waldman

Several people playing the runaway hit mobile app Pokemon Go found themselves robbed at gunpoint in Parkville last week.

Baltimore County Police say just after midnight last Thursday, July 7, several people were playing Pokemon on their cell phones. The game sent the victims to a spot on Jasper Lane near an entrance to Belmont Park. There, they were approached by two robbers. One demanded property and displayed a handgun. They surrendered cell phones and money before the robbers fled the scene. They were uninjured.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at 410-307-2020 or Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7LOCKUP.

Pokemon Go sends players around town to Poke Stops and gyms at real life landmarks like malls, parks and churches while searching for Pokemon that could be anywhere from players' living rooms to the police station to Eutaw Street at Camden Yards. Multiple media outlets report it's been downloaded in the U.S. more than 7.5 million times.

This isn't the first time the app has been used to target robbery victims. Police in Missouri said Sunday that four teens used the game to draw victims to a spot in O'Fallon, just outside St. Louis, and then robbed them. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that police arrested the four teens after responding to a call for a robbery near a gas station early Sunday. The suspects are between the ages of 16 and 18, and are believed to have been involved in similar robberies elsewhere.

Baltimore County Police urge players of Pokemon Go or similar games to use common sense while playing. That means avoiding traveling alone, staying away from secluded areas, playing in well-lit areas at night and avoiding playing while driving. They remind players to be aware of their surroundings, and remember the game doesn't in itself grant access to private property.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.