Police in Springfield, Massachusetts are in search of a masked man after he allegedly gave Walmart shoppers a hug before claiming he had COVID-19. According to the Springfield Police Department, the incident—which was reported on Aug. 15—consisted of the masked man randomly approaching customers and hugging them.
In one instance, the suspect removed an item from a victim’s hands and then gave him a hug, the police department said on Facebook. According to officials, the masked man then said: “Just giving you a Covid hug. You now have Covid.” After giving the victim a hug, the suspect allegedly laughed and walked away, authorities said. The victim in this incident, a cancer survivor, said he had never seen the man before.
An image of the suspect captured from security camera footage was released in which he is wearing a black T-shirt and camouflage shorts. While police noted he embraced other customers, it is unclear whether he actually had the coronavirus at the time or not.
Whether or not the man tested positive, his actions of scaring people into believing he was positive are considered a threat under Massachusetts state law, ABC News noted. According to the state’s law, anyone who directly or indirectly communicates a threat, whether it be orally, written, “or by other means,” can be charged with making terroristic threats.
Police are now in search of the suspect for charges of assault and battery in addition to making terroristic threats, Masslive.com reported. Authorities have requested that anyone with information contact them.
Since the start of the pandemic, some people have not taken the severity of the novel coronavirus seriously and are bent on not only ignoring safety measures but committing disgusting crimes. In March, a Missouri man was charged with making a terrorist threat after licking items at Walmart to mock fears of COVID-19. Unfortunately, many of these incidents have occurred in Walmarts nationwide, but they are not isolated to that chain. Some individuals continue to threaten essential workers or resort to physical violence when asked to wear a mask in public wherever they’re shopping.
As cases across the country increase, some people have no regard for the deadly consequences of this virus and continue to rebel against safety measures and push for openings of schools and other facilities. The Trump administration’s lack of response to COVID-19 further encourages these individuals to belittle the pandemic and its current state. As of this report, more than 5.7 million people in the U.S. have been infected with the coronavirus and at least 176,800 have died as a result, according to The New York Times database.
