Wisconsin 'Active Shooter' Was (Fortunately) All Panic, No Disco

Well this is a great use of city resources (/s): the Barron County Sheriff's Office along with the Rice Lake Police Department received calls about gunshots on Thursday evening.

Fortunately, it was a gearhead, not guns. Still...

'Cool' Guy With Backfiring Car Causes Brief Panic in Rice Lake

After getting calls about gunfire near Walmart, the Rice Lake Middle School, and a T-Mobile store, police found the car and detained the two occupants. The police found no guns in the car, and determined the 'gunshots' were actually engine backfires.

No biggie for those rascals in the car, right? Wrong: police are recommending that charges be filed.

Why? Well:

dozens of law enforcement officers as well as fire & paramedic personnel had to be called in
multiple businesses had to be placed on lockdown
Rice Lake Middle School events had to be cancelled
both the Rice Lake Middle School and the Rice Lake High School had to be placed on lockdown

I know that modifying your car/truck/rollerblades (?) to backfire when accelerating has been the go-to modification for...reasons. They sound awesome to people who think they sound awesome. The rest of us are annoyed...some are scared, and with good reason.

The sound of gunshots in the country kinda becomes background noise.

The sound of gunshots in a city can be terrifying.

If you're so desperate for attention that you'll blow money on making your car backfire (which causes engine damage, in addition to burning through more fuel), just get a billboard.

And that's today's Sign of the Apocalypse.