Is Pokémon GO Safe? Death, Landmines, Accidents Worry Authorities All Over The World

As users around the globe continue downloading and playing the popular augmented reality game Pokémon GO, more incidents, accidents and now a death have been reported as authorities issue warnings for players to exert more caution.

The free game that is based on geo-caching involves players looking for Pokémon in their local areas. While playing the game, a teenager was shot to death in Guatemala, reports said Wednesday. It remains unclear why Jerson Lopez de Leon was shot while playing the game with his cousin. Authorities are searching for people who fled the scene of the crime.

The death in Guatemala is not the first gun related incident tied to Pokémon Go. A man in Florida shot at two teenagers over the weekend when they were playing the game outside of his home. The teenagers were not injured in the incident.

The outdoor exploration involved in catching Pokémon in the game has worried a Bosnian nongovernmental group afraid that players may way wander into areas where unexploded ordnances are left over from the 1992-1995 war that rocked the region.

“We ask all citizens to respect all signs warning them about mines and not to enter areas unfamiliar to them,” the group Posavina bez mina said, CNN reported.

Reports of distracted players have been coming in from around the globe and now authorities are worried about distracted drivers who are playing the game. A man who rear-ended another car on the highway told the Washington State Patrol (WSP) that he was distracted while driving and playing the game, local media reported late Tuesday.

“The WSP urges gamers to consider safety over their high score,” the police said in a statement. The passengers of the other vehicle were not injured.

While firefighters are used to rescuing cats stuck high up in trees, they now are also having to help out Pokémon players. A player in New Jersey called 911 Tuesday when she was not able to climb down a tree while hoping to catch a Pokémon.

"For all those out there playing Pokémon Go, take heed of all of the warnings and be careful not to put yourself into bad situations. Think about what you are doing and where you are going before you actually do it," said the East Greenwich Township Fire and Rescue in a Facebook post.