Whitley Strieber published his novel "The Last Vampire" last
year and has just completed the sequel, "Lilith's Dream,"
which will be published in October. Despite all this vampire
writing, we never thought that vampires might be real, but
recent news reports tell a different story. Police say up to 50
groups of human vampires are operating in Bogota, Columbia.
They dress in black and drink brandy mixed with human
blood, which they obtain from transfusion centers or by
purchasing animal blood from butchers.
But police are worried that their activities have escalated:
they have recently begun stopping people at gunpoint and
mugging them for their blood. They force them to bare their
necks, then pierce their veins with a razor and take turns
drinking the blood.
A police spokesperson said it's difficult to prosecute the
vampires because witnesses are afraid to testify against
them. Victims are also worried that people will think they're
crazy if they report the attacks.
The authorities say they can't do anything about the
vampires without hard evidence and Colombia's freedom of
religion laws mean the police can't stop people and search
them just because they're dressed like vampires.
Interpol official Juan Prieto says he's worried that vampire
numbers are increasing. He believes they could be
responsible for several unsolved murders in Bogota, "But we
have a problem proving it."
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Here in the U.S., a Kansas pharmacist has been charged with
taking blood samples for a nonexistent study. It has been
discovered that he has been drawing blood unnecessarily for
11 years, according to police.
Investigators say they don't know why he wanted the blood
or what he did with it. He paid up to $20 per sample.
Corey Penner has been charged with 31 counts of battery,
and twenty more people have come forward with complaints
about him. "We're being inundated," says Detective
Walton. "We kind of figured this was going to happen."
Police say the 29-year-old pharmacist took the samples from
people in their cars, at his home, in the back room of the
supermarket where he worked, and in a church. Penner told
the volunteers he was researching high blood pressure with a
doctor. A volunteer eventually got suspicious and contacted
the police.
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