HIV-Infected Needles in the Handles of Gas Pumps In Florida or New York-Fiction!
Summary of eRumor:
Captain Abraham Sands of the Jacksonville, Florida Police Department, or the Buffalo, New York police department, warns that hypodermic needles infected with the HIV virus have been found on gas pump handles. He claims that in Jacksonville alone, there have been 17 cases of people being stuck by the needles and that 8 of them now test positive for HIV. He says there are also 12 other cases elsewhere in the country.
The Truth:
There is no such person as Captain Abraham Sands either in Buffalo or Jacksonville. There are no such incidents of HIV-infected needles being found in gas pump handles. eRumors about HIV-infected needles have been making the rounds of the country for quite a while including ones reported to be found in theater seats, pay phones, etc.. None of them is true. Interestingly, there is also no such thing as the Jacksonville Police Department. Jacksonville is served by a Sheriff’s Office, which has issued a statement officially declaring this story a hoax.