POLICE IN THE US are investigating after a teenage boy started an online rumour that a ‘purge’, inspired by the 2013 horror film, was to take place in the city of Louisville, Kentucky.

The Purge imagines a futuristic America that rids itself of crime by sanctioning a 12-hour period each year where all criminal activity is legal.

After watching the film, the boy tweeted “Who’s trying to get a Louisville Purge started with me?” along with an image proposing it take place between 8:30am on Friday 15 August and 6:30am the following Saturday.

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The poster for the ‘purge’ was soon circulating in the city and on social media, attracting the attention of the police, who said they were “prepared” to deal with anything that happened.

The citizens of Louisville began to voice their concerns online, asking whether it was a hoax or something to actually be worried about:

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The hashtag #LouisevillePurge trended all over the US on Friday night.

The boy has since defended himself to a local high school newspaper, saying it was supposed to be “just a fun thing”:

I was sitting in my house and watching The Purge and I thought of the tweet and picture that started it. But I didn’t think it’d get that big from there. I didn’t mean any harm by this at all. I love my city.

According to local station WAVE 3 News, the police do not intend to press charges against the teen.

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