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This photo from Wednesday night's riot in Vancouver, British Columbia, became an overnight Internet sensation.
June 17th, 2011
12:09 PM ET
It was the smooch seen round the world, and now we know the passionate couple's names. At least, we think we do.
The couple were photographed lying in a romantic-looking embrace in the middle of a Vancouver, British Columbia, street while a post-hockey game riot swirled around them Wednesday night.
Australian website ninemsn identified the couple as Perth native Scott Jones and his girlfriend, Alexandra Thomas of Vancouver, after Jones' sister and mother came forward.
"It is something he would do; that's our boy," his mother, Megan Jones of Perth, told ninemsn. "He has always lived in his own world. He's special like that. He doesn't always connect with what's going on around him."
CNN has reached out to the couple but has not confirmed that they are the people in the photo.
Some self-described witnesses have said the woman was injured and the man was comforting her, but online speculation is rife that the photo was staged or that the kissing couple are opportunistic performance artists.
Brett Jones of Perth, who told the Toronto Star he is Scott Jones' father, said the picture is legitimate but is not what it seems.
"She had actually been injured," Brett Jones told the Star. A riot police officer had knocked her down with a shield, he said. "He lay down next to her to comfort her. She was crying, and he just kissed her to calm her down."
Rich Lam, the Getty Images photographer who captured the image, wasn't sure what was happening.
"I just saw these two people and I thought they were hurt," he told NPR. "... I didn't really know what I got until the editor pointed it out."
NPR writer Claire O'Neill compared the scene to an art installation by Tino Sehgal at New York's Guggenheim Museum.
Brett Jones said he told his son not to worry about the doubters.
"Tell your story as it happened and there's nothing you can do about them," he told his son, according to the Star. "I think it's amazing."
Riot kissers tentatively identified – This Just In - CNN.com Blogs
