There are those moments in life that end up looking like something straight out of a movie, and that is exactly what happened this week in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. A photo started going viral on Thursday that showed a street covered in blood and it all came from a “leak” at a nearby funeral home. While it may seem like an early Halloween prank or something that someone was trying to do to scare people, it most certainly was real.
The image is one that received a lot of doubt as it showed blood running down a street and even splashed up on the curb. People started wondering if it was simply red paint or some kind of prank, but WBRZ-TV confirmed that it was actually blood and a local funeral home was to blame.
As the photo started making the social media round, it was revealed that it was taken from behind the Greenoaks Funeral Home which is located on Florida Boulevard. Looking closer at things, it shows a valve leaking blood as it flows down the street for all to see.
It was soon confirmed by a Baton Rouge city official that the mixture was a mixture of blood and Formaldehyde.
Report: Photos show blood leaking from Baton Rouge funeral home https://t.co/ZO1xr6SzuM pic.twitter.com/VFowV0Q9XE
— WWL-TV (@WWLTV) September 15, 2017
The mixture actually leaked out of a storage tank that was behind the funeral home and it has a valve sticking up out of the ground. The tank holds extra embalming fluid and around 2 p.m. on Thursday afternoon, the leak started, which rolled down through the grass, over the curb, and onto the street.
Adam Smith is with the City of Baton Rouge Department of Environmental Services as it was originally believed to be a problem with the sewage in the area. Upon closer inspection, they realized it was a bit more than that.
“We sent out both our sewer inspector and our environmental specialists to take a look. We determined that it wasn’t a sewer issue and that it was an issue on private property.”
Smith said they have focused quite a bit on restaurants as of late and not on funeral homes, but this one being on private property did help matters a bit. As it was not on state property, the leak will not run into the sewer system.
Greenoaks Funeral Home is under new management as of recently and they are being signed up for a permit from the city.
Blood Seen Leaking From Tank At Baton Rouge Funeral Home https://t.co/P5y0TEqxi4 pic.twitter.com/tqm088GQDL
— Lafayette LA (@Lafayetterr) September 15, 2017
After close to a half an hour, the funeral home owner got things under control and stopped the leak.
Many people don’t like the sight of blood and that is why they’re not big fans of horror movies or haunted houses, but it can’t always be avoided. For some residents in a Baton Rouge community, they had no choice but to see blood as it flowed down the street and out of a valve from behind a local funeral home. While it all ended up being a simple mistake, it also turned into a viral photo that brought a horror film to life.
[Featured Image by Scott Olson/Getty Images]