Fake News Hoax: Ex-Army Sniper Jeremy Elmore Kills 2 Of 3 Neighbor’s Intruders – Gets 256,000 Facebook Likes [Debunked]
The first clue that a fake news story about “Jeremy Elmore,” a supposed 42-year-old guy from El Paso, Texas, is really a non-existent man comes from the name of the publication spreading the fake news, The Seattle Tribune. Most folks might realize off the top of their heads that The Seattle Tribune isn’t real but if they don’t, the disclaimer on the website should tip them off that they create fake news.
“The Seattle Tribune is a news and entertainment satire web publication.”
Secondly, the outlandishness of the report about Elmore should be another clue. Jeremy was hailed a hero — according to the fake news report after Elmore reportedly saved his next-door neighbors from violent criminals and home intruders on Tuesday night. The fake news report claims that Elmore just retired from the Army when he was 41, after giving 21 years of his life to the Army. The fake news goes on to say that Jeremy was home alone while Mrs. Elmore and their three young kids were off in Indiana.
That gave Elmore time to wander around his bedroom at 1:15 a.m., and it just so happened that Jeremy decided to break down and clean his gun when the M24 Sniper Riffle [sic] (or M24 Sniper Weapon System, as it were) really came in handy right when Jeremy reassembled the gun and rested it on his bedroom window sill to look through the scope. Lo and behold, the fake news story goes on like a movie plot to reveal that Jeremy coincidentally saw via his neighbors open windows his unlucky neighbors — Fredrick and Lydia Cole — tied to chairs by unrelenting thieves. To add more vulnerability to the fake news report, there are two young children of the Cole Family thrown in for good measure.
Elmore saw duct-tape around mouths, reports the fake news report, and three intruders with guns that were pistol-whipping the dad in the fake story. Jeremy called 911 and while waiting for police to get there, the fake news story says Elmore’s military instincts kicked in as he didn’t wait for police to act — but saw a gun to Mrs. Cole’s head, so Jeremy took his shot from way across the street. That’s when the intruder dropped his weapon and the other two home intruders were struck down by Elmore as well, continues the fake news fable.
Amazingly, Elmore killed two out of the three home intruders, claims the fake news story, which goes on to print an alleged screenshot courtesy of Fredrick Cole’s Facebook page — with fake news seemingly getting more detailed these days. As reported by the trend graph on Trendolizer, the fake news story has gotten more than 18,000 likes on Facebook since publication. Update: By Thursday, January 12, the number of Facebook likes on the fake news story had grown to 41,000. Update No. 2: Now it’s up to 58,000 Facebook likes. Update No. 3: The fake article has surged to 195,000 Facebook likes by Friday, January 13. Update No. 4: The fake news report is up to 256,000 Facebook likes on Saturday, January 14.
Reactions to the fake news story about Jeremy can be read below, in sample snippets from Facebook posts about Elmore. As seen in plenty of the responses to the fake news report — lots of people sharing the fake news likely don’t realize it’s fake news.
Danny Corso: “Retired sniper Jeremy Elmore takes out 3 home invaders with his sniper rifle. This is just an incredible story and incredible stroke of luck that he even noticed his neighbors tied to chairs. Awesome!”
Nancy Burridge: “Jeremy Elmore, YOU are a Hero! Thank you for what you did for this family! CRIMINALS BEWARE. There are many more like Jerry Elmore who will defend themselves and other innocent people!”
James H. Taylor Jr.: “Love a happy ending. Retired Army Sniper Jeremy Elmore is a real American hero.”
Jerry McVay: “Way to go Jeremy Elmore! Very proud you took the right action. You have taken your Oath serious. Thank you for your service and thank you saving the Cole Family. Job well done Soldier!”
[Featured Image by Chayanin Wongpracha/Shutterstock]
