A bizarre Internet directed prank caused extensive damage to an Aberdeen hotel early Friday morning, the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office said.
According to a notice of investigation from the fire marshal's office, a guest at the Holiday Inn Express in the 1000 block of Beards Hill Road was contacted by a website http://www.pranku.net "and was told a gas leak had occurred in the hotel and was subsequently coaxed into breaking off the hotel room sprinkler head with the toilet bowl cover, causing water to flow into eight rooms and the floor below."
Deputy Chief State Fire Marshal Mark Bilger said similar pranks "apparently" have been "going on" in other states.
"This is the first experience we've had with this type of incident," Bilger said.
