Police say this threat about Walmart shootings in Lubbock, Texas, is a hoax

The recent mass shooting in a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, has inspired social media posts warning about similar attacks in other cities.

But one such missive about a threat in Lubbock, Texas, is a hoax, according to police. 

"Whatever you do this weekend do not go to Wal-Mart for nothing all pass this on to family and friends," reads the image posted to Facebook on Aug. 13. "Got this info from a police officer that is a family member they arrested a man for gun threats and he told that he was not the only one and that his accomplices will be going to different Wal-Mart stores and shooting. Not a game this is real."

The post, which had been shared more than 1,300 times by Aug. 15, was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) 

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We reached out to the Lubbock Police Department to ask if the post was accurate. 

"There is no credibility to the threat," Carson Glenewinkel told us in an email. "There are also other screenshots circulating roughly stating the same thing, and those are also not true."

Ray Mendoza, a captain at the department, told Lubbock news station KLBK that officers are aware of the message but "it’s false," according to an Aug. 15 KLBK story. 

This Facebook post earns the same distinction. We rate it False.