Ambulance attacked in Romania amid viral TikTok child-stealing hoax

10 August 2026 An ambulance crew was attacked with sticks, axes and stones in Recea Cristur, Cluj County, after false claims circulated on TikTok that an ambulance was being used to steal children, according to Romanian authorities and Curs de Guvernare. The ambulance driver was injured in the eye by shards of broken glass after the vehicle was attacked and required emergency surgery in Cluj-Napoca. The doctors said he suffered corneal damage and would need at least three months to recover. The incident began when the medical crew stopped after entering the locality to ask residents for directions to a patient's address. Police said the ambulance appeared similar to vehicles shown in TikTok videos spreading false claims that children were being abducted for organ harvesting and medical exp