Buster

Stop Us If You've Heard This Before: Prank Caller Dials A Motel 6 Guest...

For the second time in three months, a South Carolina motel has been damaged as a result of a phone hoax bearing the fingerprints of the vandal-in-chief at Pranknet.

The Motel 6 in Spartanburg, first targeted last November, was hit again at 1 AM today by an unidentified caller who awoke a male guest in Room 208.

Pretending to be the front desk clerk, the caller told guest Timothy Leach that, “there was an emergency of toxic gas entering the rooms,” according to a Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office report.

What followed next was pure Pranknet (or “Prank University” as it now calls itself). Leach was directed to place wet towels at the base of the room’s door. He then was directed to “disable” the room’s sprinkler head. Leach did this by striking it with a toilet tank lid (as directed by the purported clerk).

As water began gushing down and flooding the room, the caller tried to get Leach to break the bathroom mirror to access a supposed shut-off valve behind it. At this point, Leach told the caller to come to his room “as he was leaving.”

When sheriff’s deputies arrived, the local fire department was already at the Motel 6. A magistrate judge, according to the sheriff’s report, has requested further investigation to identify the caller “prior to issuing a warrant for the offense.”

At 2:15 this morning, a TSG reporter happened to begin monitoring hoax calls being placed by Tariq Malik, Pranknet’s founder. Malik, who broadcasts the calls live in Pranknet’s chat room, spent the following 90 minutes randomly dialing guests at various Motel 6 locations.

Which could lead someone to conclude that Malik, pictured at left, likely placed the 1 AM call to Leach’s room.

Comments (17)

Tarik Malik does not sound like a typical Pakistani name, it is not even his entire true name...
Hmmm, ever notice how many middle easterners run motels (I know many are owned by Indians named Patel, though)? I wonder if this guy is trying to put Motel 6 out of business. What if he's one of those Muslims who are trying to run American owned businesses out (not sure if Motel 6 is American owned now, though), so that they can corner the market and take us over like they're doing in other countries that are too politically correct to notice. Will we soon be reading about convenience stores becoming the next target for pranks from someone like Malik?
What's interesting is that while it seems that Malik holds back from poking fun at Middle Easterners, he feels no such qualms when making slurs against blacks, Asians, and Hispanics. I hope he doesn't start targeting convenience stores...my local 7-Eleven is run by a very nice group of Indians...they don't deserve such harassment.
Why is this ass not in jail?
At his juncture, the blame ought to lie w/ the motel. "Fool me once, shame on you...fool me twice, shame on me!" It ought to mandatory at checkin that all patrons be not only warned @ any such possible hoaxes, but also filled in as to what the proper procedures are in the event of an emergency. Now's the time for a movie @ tracking down losers like Tarick Malechh by some aging Hollywood hunk who proceeds to impose some well-founded justice on the bozo. Using all the spiteful tactics of the perp, it could be named after a similar TV show: KICKASS!
WTF are you talking about? You want to see a new waiver that needs to be signed just because somebody staying at a motel *might* be pranked? Should they also sign a waiver in case a rock star staying next door puts a leg through the drywall and kicks them in the face? What about if the hotel manager turns into a zombie and starts biting guests? Benjamin Franklin is rolling over in his grave @ your comment (re: sacrificing freedom for security).
WTF are you talking about? It was a valid point except MOTEL 6 needs to not let the public directly call into guests room! So MOTEL 6 is to blame!