UNION COUNTY, N.C. -- One of the latest online social media challenges has potentially legal and dangerous consequences.
The “No Lackin” or “You Lackin” challenge, as it has been called on social media, encourages participants to pull guns on each other.
Earlier in June, the Grimes County Sheriff’s Office in Texas said a teen was arrested and charged after shooting his 16-year-old friend in the face. Deputies said the two teens were playing the “You Lackin” game with pistols when one of the weapons went off. Raul Garcia Jr., 17, was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony.
In the challenge, participants will often pull a gun out and ask the other person, “You lackin'?” According to Urban Dictionary, a user said "lackin'" means not having a firearm on you.
The slang term is often used by gang members to let them know they are ready for any confrontation, according to HipWiki, and the term became popular after rapper Lil Mister had a song called “No Lackin'.”
Tony Underwood, chief communications officer for the Union County Sheriff’s Office, said the law enforcement agency has not seen any cases related to the challenge, and he hopes it stays that way.
"Pointing a firearm loaded, unloaded, even a toy gun is never a good idea,” Underwood said.
There are serious legal consequences for playing the game in North Carolina, Underwood added. A person can face charges for pointing a gun at someone, even if it is considered in fun.
"It's not a game, and mishandling a firearm, that's not one of those mistakes you can make and hopefully correct it later,” Underwood said.
Deputies follow the cardinal rules of handgun safety, Underwood said, including treating every weapon as if it’s loaded, not pointing a gun at a person, keeping fingers outside the trigger and knowing the target.
Underwood said he hopes no one in the Charlotte area accepts the challenge.
“It's deadly. It's fatal. It's dangerous,” he said. “And it has lifelong consequences.”