Gas Leak Leads to Robbery at Tacoma Mall

Horizon News Network

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Date: 2081-3-30

Yesterday shoppers were reported to be making complaints of feeling woozy and lightheaded in the Tacoma mall. What was originally attributed to fatigue turned into something much worse, as shoppers started to lose consciousness. Panic set in and people began to flee in terror from the unknown danger. It wasn't long before first responders arrived on the scene to act on what was discovered to be a gas leak. Heroic first responders cut the power and gas lines, and wearing protective equipment began to pour into the mall to find and evacuate unconscious victims. DocWagon reports that over 200 shoppers were treated for minor exposure, and 10 are listed in critical condition. Maintenance staff at the Tacoma Mall have been placed on leave while a full investigation is conducted on how this gas leak could have occurred. A new temporary maintenance team has assured the public that the mall is now safe and the source of the leak has been identified and repaired. Acting Maintenance Supervisor Henry Warren has assured the public that in addition to having repaired the gas lines, his men are working around the clock to comb every inch of the Mall's systems to check for faults. However, some shoppers remain skeptical of returning to the mall after yesterdays scare. One shopper left the following on their P2.1 after the scare:

Ryan Haynes

This is some scary stuff. I was just going down to get myself some new threads, but the whole place was surrounded by dudes wearing hazmat suits and respirators and drek. I didn't know what was going on! That coulda been me if I hadn't stopped for lunch along the way. I think maybe I'll stick to just ordering a delivery for a while.

But not all shoppers are deterred. Some shoppers see this as an opportunity to claim all the best in-store deals for themselves.

Sarah Carr

What are people worried about? They found the problem and fixed it. Now they're looking for anything else they missed. The mall is practically empty because everyone is scared it's going to happen again right after they fixed it! Oh well, more deals for me!

In an unfortunate twist to al already disturbing event, some people apparently used the crisis to slip into the mall disguised as emergency services and exploit the vulnerable stores. Inventories are still being conducted, but early estimates put the value of stolen merchandise at over 100,000¥. Mostly electronics and weapons, but pharmacies have also been hit. Knight Errant issued the following statement:

We are deeply troubled that anyone would seek to use this unfortunate incident for their own gains. Already officers are tracking down the culprits, and suspects are expected to be detained by the end of the day. additionally, we have restructured our security deployments throughout the city, putting a higher concentration of officers in high value high risk areas.

We will provide you with more information as this news story develops. This has been Horizon News Network. We know what you think.

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Date: 2081-3-30 By: News Van Dan

News Van Dan here, can you believe the drek that Horizon is trying to shove down our throats? Gas leak? Seriously? Nah, this was a full on intentional gas attack. A leak in the natural gas line wouldn't fill up the mall that fast. Someone intentionally gassed the mall. And I think those robberies are the reason. Does anyone really buy that in all the chaos and confusion, a bunch of goons just happened to be in the area with full hazmat gear ready just so they could rob the place? Please. Horizon's algorithm is intentionally burying posts made by someone who managed to get a read on the "gas leak" with their Olfactory Boosters, and anytime you do find them the algorithm pairs them up with reports of malfunctioning Aztechnology cyberware, trying to convince you that this guy's nose was malfunctioning.

Henry Wood

I know what natural gas smells like. I work with it every day, that's why I got the nose implant. I can smell a leak long before anyone else. This wasn't natural gas. This was something else.

Everyone bought into giving more and more power to our corporate overlords in the name of security and stability. Of course they don't want to admit the truth. If they went around telling everyone that a bunch of guys gassed a public mall so they could use the emergency response as a cover for robbing the place, people would lose faith in the system. So no, it has to be a simple gas leak. It's all a simple problem of human error and all evidence to the contrary be damned. We're just expected to believe that it's some crazy coincidence that a team perfectly outfitted to blend into the first responders slipped right in, took what they were after, and slipped right out. And they know they can get away with this because they know they can silence anyone who challenges it like Henry Wood. Isn't it interesting that his Gary Score dropped by 20% after he made that post? This is corporate censorship at its finest to cover up that what really went down is a lot more dangerous than what they want people to think. KE failed to protect the mall, and now they're lying about it. And I'll bet my van that when they do arrest their "suspect", it'll be some random group of SINless who don't even know each other and never saw those suits before in their lives.