Police in Springfield, Massachusetts are trying to identify a man who has been approaching Walmart shoppers, hugging them, and then telling them they have COVID.
Wrote Springfield Police in an alert: “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. This suspect had done this to other customers as well.”
MassLive reports: “Police spokesman Ryan Walsh said police do not consider it a laughing matter. The man is being sought for assault and battery and making terroristic threats. The charge of assault and battery combines threatening behavior with physical contact. According to Massachusetts state law, anyone who communicates a threat either directly or indirectly, orally, in writing ‘or by other means’ can be charged with making terroristic threats.”
