Robber uses banana as "gun"

John Szwalla, 17, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, attempted to rob an Internet cafe with a concealed banana he said was a gun. From the Associated Press:

The owner, Bobby Ray Mabe, said he and a customer jumped Szwalla, holding him until deputies arrived. While they waited, Mabe says the teen ate the banana.

Mabe says deputies took pictures of the peel. Forsyth County Sheriff's office spokesman Maj. Brad Stanley says deputies joked about charging Szwalla with destroying evidence.

"Deputies: Banana used as gun in holdup, then eaten"

• [Takuan]

  http://www.freakingnews.com/pictures/9500/banana-gun-9818.jpg

• [phisrow]

  I wonder if they know any good “is that an X in your pocket?” jokes in prison?

• [Jason Rizos]

  Just to be on the safe side, I think we should ban fruit from carry-on for all domestic and international flights.

• [Mister Eppy]

  He should have used a gub.

• [Snig]

  To bad John Cleese wasn’t there, he’d have shown them the proper technique:

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByZqx30OvVs

• [Brainspore]

  “And now I shall eat the banana, thus disarming him!” -John Cleese

• [Snig]

  Eating the banana not quite as clever a criminal masterstroke as murdering with an icicle and allowing the evidence to evaporate. He’ll do the time for this one, all the while plotting the next dastardly heist, this one involving produce with an edible peel.

• [Brainspore]

  Curse you Snig, you stole my joke by 30 seconds.

• [Anonymous]

  I guess he *wasn’t* happy to see me, then.

• [Talia]

  Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang, banana gun!

• [nanuq]

  Considering bananas are endangered, using one to commit a robbery is downright criminal. Is this how we want to remember the noble banana once it’s gone?

  http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2003/jan/16/gm.science

• [Kehaar]

  The kid wanted to give them the slip with the banana peel. Consuming evidence was never part of the scheme.

• [Shane]

  Monty Python … check…
  Banana-in-your-pocket joke … check…
  Icicle weapon reference … check…
  Banana man … check…

  Are there no other reference/memes left untouched by the swift and noble Boing Boing forum-readers?

  Can someone work us up a joke using the Kirk Cameron banana-as-evidence-of-intelligent-design-meme in the context of this crime? I’m at a loss for creating some A material at this moment.

• [papyromancer]

  Not to harsh on the kid too much, but totally Szwalla’d the bananna.

• [mdh]

  talia, i laughed.