NEW YEAR'S CELEBRATION MARRED BY UNINVITED GUEST
by Thomas Drury
Staff Reporter
The thousands of revellers who gathered at Gotham Square last night rang in the new year with a bang--one that left 43 of them hospitalized.
At the stroke of midnight, the now-familiar figure of the Batman, or someone whose costume closely resembled his, appeared atop the tower from which the traditional ball was dropping. Without saying a word, he reached into a compartment on his belt and tossed a fistfull of explosives into the crowd--and then another, and another, until the ground echoed with loud popping noises and bright flashes of blinding white light.
7 onlookers were directly injured by the explosive devices, and in the ensuing pandemonium another three dozen were badly hurt. The Batman left as suddenly as he had arrived.
The remainder of the evening's scheduled festivities were cancelled.