Teen's claim he was nabbed, shot by 'Hispanic' men sparked outrage. It was a hoax, police say

[Zorro]

The text was every parent’s worst nightmare: A 17-year-old said he had been abducted, shot and wounded by a group of men on a Florida highway.

Law enforcement scrambled to the scene. A statewide alert went out to locate the boy. After it became known that the teen had said his abductors were “Hispanic,” an outpouring of outrage followed online.

But none of it was true, authorities now say.

In a text to his mother last week, the teen — identified as Caden Speight — claimed he had been shot and abducted by four Latino men on Highway 484 in Dunnellon in Marion County, Fla.

The claim prompted authorities to issue a statewide Amber Alert and sparked furor against Latinos on social media.

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2025-10-02/teens-claim-he-was-nabbed-shot-by-hispanic-men-sparked-outrage-it-was-a-hoax-police-say

[dsc]

1. It was more than statewide

I live in NC and it came across my phone.

[SWBTATTReg]

2. And people actually believed this nonsense? Idiots like this w/ fake stories just make it 10 times harder for anyone

to believe them later. This outrages me as innocent people could have been hurt, attacked, etc. by nuts who believed this teen's story.

If anything, it reminds me of the fable of the boy who cried wolf once too many times...

tRUMP reminds me of this a lot; he makes numerous false claims that all prove to be false.