wielding teenage killer on the loose are hoaxes – Full Fact

A series of Facebook posts claiming a “dangerous teenage killer” is on the loose are false.

The posts appear in various Facebook community groups, including several local buy and sell groups. One post, published on a group for those living in Streatham and neighbouring areas in south London, has been shared more than 2,700 times.

The post says: “WARNING : Alert. Please lock your doors properly and stay vigilant. A Dangerous Teenage Killer Maurice Gardener (18) is breaking into people’s homes and cars stabbing them in cold blood here in #streatham

“Please Warn others!! He has many counts of kidnapping. He is also going around preying on elderly people, spray painting and vandalizing parked vehicles. He is very ruthless and very dangerous. Maurice is armed so if you see him please do not approach just call the police. LET'S BUMP THIS POST AND HELP WARN OTHERS [sic]”.

Similar posts with the same pictures have been shared in other Facebook groups for towns and cities across England, including Manchester, Folkestone, Bury St Edmunds, Dorchester, Ripon and Herne Bay, all claiming the attacks are taking place in those locations.

However, the details in these posts are false. We’ve not been able to find any police reports of a murder suspect named Maurice Gardener in any of the areas specified in the posts in recent weeks.

In addition, a reverse image search reveals the mugshot which accompanies the posts is that of a man named Joshua Gardner. In May 2018, at the age of 17, he attacked a vehicle with a zombie knife after claiming he was nearly knocked off his bike while riding through Croydon. He smashed the passenger window, and attempted to attack the driver.

The incident was caught on film and the footage later went viral. Initially given a two-year suspended sentence, this was overturned by the Court of Appeal and he was subsequently given three and a half years in a youth offenders’ institution for the attack.

We’ve written before about similar posts falsely raising the alarm for missing children, elderly people, abandoned infants and injured dogs in Facebook community groups. Our 2023 investigation into these types of hoax posts found they’re often edited later to include links to surveys, freebies or cheap housing.

In February, we found these hoax posts continue to be an issue, with at least 47 communities across the UK being victim to nine different hoaxes we fact checked that month. We wrote to Meta for a second time asking it to take action.