Must Watch Video: Teen Terrorizes Busy Intersection with Fake Grenade Launcher

Here’s a really bizarre idea for preventing tragedies like the Colorado theater shooting last July: Police arrested an Arizona man this week on charges of making a false impression of a terrorist act and endangering a minor.

Michael D. Turley aka “Anon Filmmaker” caused much controversy after posting a video on YouTube a couple weeks after the Aurora massacre of his 16-year-old nephew dressed like a terrorist in bedsheets and holding a rocket grenade launcher on a busy intersection. It took 15 minutes before a police officer told the boy to put the weapon down. The scary scene prompted a dozen 911 calls, but police did not act on them until this week after careful review.

Turley wanted to prove a point about slow police response times and thought it was cool to “run a little test here in Phoenix, Arizona.” No big deal, right? Given the fact that this took place in Arizona where gun ownership is very relaxed, I’m pretty surprised that his nephew wasn’t shot to death by the police or some angry motorist.

Are videos like Turley’s prompting meaningful discussion on public safety, or is this a stupid, reckless idea? Watch the video below and tell us.