Did a man from Killeen, Texas cut off his own genitals while high on bath salts and did he then microwave them? No, that's not true: the only site publishing the story is a known fake news site that has published several other hoaxes in the past and the story lacks details like names and pictures that would allow for it to be verified. Therefor it is almost certainly not true.
The story originated from an article published on TVTNews on September 6, 2018 titled "Killeen, TX man, high on bath salts, cut off his genitals and microwaved them" (archived here) which opened:
A 43-year old man from Killeen, Texas is tonight in intensive care after he was seriously injured during what has been described by investigators as a 'two-week binge on bath salts' caused him to cut off his own genitals.
The victim - who has not been named - was found by neighbors 'writhing on the ground in pain' outside his property. Paramedics were soon on the scene and the 43-year old was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he remains in a critical condition as a result of severe blood loss.
Investigators, unable to interview the victim due to his injuries, turned their attention to a 24-year old woman who had been living at his property and is believed to be his girlfriend. According to the woman's account, the pair had spent the past couple of weeks leading up to the accident "snorting bath salts" at the man's residence.
Users on social media only saw this title, description and thumbnail:
Killeen, TX man, high on bath salts, cut off his genitals and microwaved them
A 43-year old man from Killeen, Texas is tonight in intensive care after he was seriously injured during what has been described by investigators as a 'two-week binge on bath salts' caused him to cut off his own genitals. The victim - who has not been named - was found by neighbors 'writhing on the ground ...
We wrote about tvtnews.com before, here is our most recent articles that mention the site:
That story has also appeared on several other connected websites but each time set in a different location. The same sites have published multiple copies of other fake stories but set in different locations before, often illustrated with a picture of a sign showing the name of the town.
We have found no recent news reports from local or reliable news sources about any bath salt incidents involving severed genitals in Killeen, TX so we suspect this is a new story by the author behind the earlier hoaxes and we expect it to pop up again in the near future but set in a different location. It won't be true then either.
