Many things are worth risking one’s life for — family and friends, to name the obvious. However, one particular 31-year-old from Detroit gave it all up for a bottle of Faygo soda, the Redpop flavor. However, allow me to add more context; he was holding a person hostage with a so-called “weapon” at a Mercantile Bank in Michigan. The employee was injured, albeit not fatally, but the culprit was a danger, nonetheless. The local police negotiated with the suspect, offering a “24-ounce red Faygo soda” as a bargaining chip, per WNEM. Unfortunately for him, though, he never even got a chance to take a sip.
Using a drone holding the soda in a bag, the Michigan police force used the Redpop Faygo to lure 31-year-old Quinton Allen into their sights, after which they dispatched him with a firearm. The hostage fled successfully with no life-threatening injuries once Allen was taken out. You might have several questions; you’re not alone. What was Allen’s motive behind holding a Mercantile Bank employee hostage? What was this “weapon” — not a gun — that police are refusing to reveal to the public? Why did a 31-year-old man want a Faygo soda? Well, some folks on Reddit have a theory.
“They thought he was probably insane when he asked for Faygo,” reads a top comment. “I’m sure the guy was a clown,” added in a reply. For those not getting the puns, the Redditors are pointing out how Allen might have been a ‘juggalo,’ a fan of the Insane Clown Posse hip-hop group. According to lore, the fans are said to have a fondness for Faygo soda. “Who else would drink Faygo AND rob a bank without a firearm,” a user remarks. That said, some Redditors doubt that the 31-year-old was actually dangerous, at least not dangerous enough to kill another person, aka his hostage.
“I have strong doubts he would’ve been able to take and injure a hostage without a deadly weapon,” says a commenter. Still, they argue that since the life of the hostage is a top priority, neutralizing the target would naturally bring minimal risk to the victim. “Nah, this is a typical American sh*t show,” a user says doubtingly. “The entire purpose of negotiating is to deescalate the situation, not to cartoonishly lure the culprit to their death.” They continue: “Like I have zero faith the cops in this situation intended to solve this with no lives lost. This just reeks of current American law enforcement being full of whack jobs just itching to actually use their guns.”
Several agree, doubting the integrity of the cops at the scene. On top of many questions going unanswered, the Redditors find it hard to believe that the Michigan police would have done their due diligence to resolve the conflict some other way than killing the man who wanted a soda. Whatever the case, Mercantile Bank made a Facebook post, thanking the cops for a “swift and professional response,” but it didn’t disclose any details on the incident. It appears we’ll never know the entire truth.
