Adam J. Whitlatch

I’m sure we’ve all heard about the “Miami Zombie” by now. For those that haven’t, a nude man (now identified as Rudy Eugene) was shot and killed while devouring another man’s face. Apparently, the responding officer ordered the attacker to stop and get off his victim, but Eugene simply growled at the officer and continued eating his victim’s face. The officer then shot Eugene with apparently no effect. Reportedly, it took several shots to kill Eugene. The bizarre nature of this attack has naturally sparked talk on the Internet about the coming zombie apocalypse, which authorities have been quick to dismiss, attributing Eugene’s behavior to “cocaine psychosis” and now “bath salts,” a new designer drug similar to LSD.

What’s scary about this incident is that it’s exactly how we all imagine a zombie outbreak would start, not only the attack itself, but the aftermath. Think about it… officials offer a hasty, drug-related explanation, which is then revised to point the finger at a new drug most people have never even heard of. If Eugene was a zombie (which I don’t believe he was) then of course the situation would not be immediately understood. Rumors and wild speculation would ensue, something that would only be exacerbated by the Internet, making factual information even harder to find. Then before we know it, the problem has become widespread and impossible to contain.

The best zombie stories and movies usually start with some random, isolated incident setting off the zombie apocalypse, which is what makes this such a compelling story. So, what do you think? Is this a random drug-induced incident, or is it time to stock up on shotgun shells and bottled water? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section.

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