Hugging Suspect
Police in Springfield, Massachusetts are looking for a man who hugged a cancer survivor at a local Walmart, then claimed to have COVID-19. It happened August 15, at about 7:10 p.m., cops said.
According to authorities on Facebook:
This suspect took an item out of a victims hands and then gave him a hug. He told the victim “Just giving you a Covid hug. You now have Covid.” The suspect then started laughing and walked away. The victim, who is a cancer survivor, had never seen the suspect before.
The man had done this to other customers too, police said. Authorities are asking for tips from the public:
If you have any information on who this is, please contact our Detective Bureau at 413-787-6355, leave us a private message on Facebook or anonymously Text-A-Tip, Text CRIMES (2-7-4-6-3-7), type SOLVE and your tip.
Police made a point to mention that one of the customers was cancer survivor. They did not explain why they pointed this out, but it’s worth mentioning that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say cancer patients are vulnerable to infection from COVID-19.
This is not the first COVID-19 crime article we’ve done. It’s not even the first hugging-related story.
In Eagle County, Colorado, a man allegedly ranted about COVID-19 “media hype and coughed on products at a store. In Ponca City, Oklahoma, a woman was seen on body cam footage coughing and sneezing at a police officer who refused to shake her hand, and she claimed to have COVID-19. In Jupiter, Florida, man allegedly murdered his wife, and tried to cover up the act by impersonating her in text messages claiming to have COVID-19.
[Image via Springfield Police Department]