'You Now Have COVID': Masked Man Hugged Strangers At Walmart, Springfield, Mass.
‘You now have COVID’: Masked man hugged strangers at Walmart.' By Aysha Qamar, Daily Kos, Aug. 24, 2020.
-- Springfield, Mass. Police are in search of this individual from an incident at the Walmart on Boston Road on Saturday, August 15th around 7:10pm. This suspect took an item out of a victims hands & then gave him a hug. He told the victim "Just giving you a Covid hug. You now have Covid." The suspect then started laughing & walked away. The victim, who is a cancer survivor, had never seen the suspect before. --
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...
More, https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/8/24/1971889/--Just-giving-you-a-COVID-hug-Masked-man-allegedly-hugged-strangers-in-attempt-to-spread-COVID-19