There are plenty of great stories about people using the Find my iPhone feature to track down and reclaim stolen iOS devices. However, a story which emerged this week shows the tragic flipside of that phenomenon.
18-year-old Brampton, Ontario native Jeremy Cook died from multiple gunshot wounds after tracking down his lost phone, and then confronting the three men who had taken it.
Cook reportedly had no connection to his attackers, and was not even aware that his phone had been stolen — having accidentally left it in a taxi cab. Unfortunately when he traced the location of the phone it led him to the three men who gunned down the teenager.
Police are still looking for the murderers who are described as being black and between the ages of 18-21, with one having worn a white shirt with black design, one a black jacket or shirt and fitted hat, and one a blue shirt and black hat. The shooting took place late Sunday afternoon.
“Nobody could ever predict that what occurred was going to occur in that case,” London Police Constable Ken Steeves told The Canadian Press. “But if you suspect there’s any potential for violence at all, we certainly encourage people to contact police. We’d be more than happy to come out and investigate with the hopes of retrieving the phone.”
Cult of Mac sends it condolences to Jeremy Cook’s family and friends.
Source: CBC
Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.
22 responses to “Teen killed after using app to track lost smartphone”
White lives matter
The only thing someone should do when their device (or anything else is stolen) is to call the police and let them handle it.
Unfortunately I’ve heard too many stories about the police not being very interested in helping right away. Which is strange to me because you are basically reporting a theft and telling the police exactly where the stolen object is.
Police “not being very interested” is better than losing one’s life over a cell phone.
Give me liberty or give me death.
Confront three strangers in a parking lot, and you just may get your wish.
or the police could just do the job we pay them to do.
That wasn’t even predictable. I would do the same thing. He probably tried to call and got no answer. I would be thinking that the cabbie was driving around with his phone and he could catch up with him and grab it. It is really sad to lose your life or such circumstances.
BTW, the police are the last option I would choose. Last time I needed assistance from them it took 2 hours for them to get there to help out. Especially if all I did is leave my phone in a cab…
Exactly. We don’t know all the details in the story but this isn’t a guy who was mugged by three men and decided to try and track them down; it’s someone who left his phone in a taxi. Really sad waste of life — and difficult to imagine the mentality of someone who would kill over a cellphone.
My iPhone 4 was stolen a few years back. I got lucky with our local police department. Using ‘find my iphone’, they had it back in my hand within 30 minutes.
“Teen killed after using app to track lost smartphone”
Very sad. Sadder still, so very avoidable. No one should confront •anyone• they don’t know, especially •three• men they don’t know, and •most• especially if they are suspected of stealing something from you. An eighteen-year-old, back in the 1950s perhaps, may have once been excused for not knowing butter. But in this connected, 24-hour news-cycle world, any kid smart enough to have started his own business should also be smart enough to know better. Such a terrible outcome, all for the desire to retrieve an electronic gadget.
True, but we don’t know the whole story. If I lost my iPhone in a taxi and then tracked it down to a group of people I wouldn’t necessarily immediately think they had stolen it. They could have just picked it up. You’re right about the larger point though: it’s a totally avoidable situation and very sad it ended this way. Again, I just struggle to wrap my head around the mind of someone who would kill over a smartphone. Even if you assume they didn’t care about the person’s life they ended, they’re likely to end up in prison for 20+ years for stealing a piece of technology with a value of MAXIMUM $400.
Oh they were black? Shocking!
No black person has ever stolen anything or shot anybody. They’re all innocent.
I thought the something, which is why i don’t feel bad when things like baltimore happen .
troll.. racist troll…
When you lose your phone and have tracking capability the first thing you do is file a police report, then with that police report you can provide police with tracking info and they will do the rest. If somehow they aren’t able to do it in time well then just buy another phone and count your blessings that you didn’t get mugged or shot for it. It’s sad it happened this way.
3 black men? not surprised…
Could he have locked his phone?
Another whitey gone – shot by violent crazed darkies
Tsk tsk. He got killed over an iPhone…
Hope they catch the culprits and put them in the slammer for life. RIP Jeremy Cook!