Authorities in Pennsylvania have arrested a woman who came up with a twisted and disgusting prank that cost a grocery store over $35,000 worth of food in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the police, the crazed woman, whose identity has not been revealed, walked in the Gerrity’s Supermarket in Hanover Township where she coughed on multiple items in the bakery, meat case, and grocery sections.
The head of the store does not believe that the unnamed woman is contaminated with the deadly virus, but they were quick to remove the food that she coughed on and disposed of them.
Workers also spent hours cleaning up the areas that the woman tried to contaminate. Staff also removed the woman from the store and rapidly called Hanover Township Police.
According to Police Chief Albert Walker, the woman was located a few hours later, and she was arrested.
Because the woman “intentionally contaminated” the food, the police plan to file criminal charges against her after she has received mental health treatment.
Officials say they do not believe that the woman has been infected with coronavirus, but they “will make every effort to see that she is tested.”
Joe Fasula, the co-owner of Gerrity’s took to Facebook, where he shared a post with several photos showing the $35,000 worth of damage at the grocery store.
Fasula began his post by saying that it was a challenging day for him and added: “At 2:20 PM today, I got a call from our Hanover Township store. The manager informed me that a woman, who the police know to be a chronic problem in the community, came in to the store and proceeded to purposely cough on our fresh produce, and a small section of our bakery, meat case, and grocery.”
He went on to explain: “While there is little doubt this woman was doing it as a very twisted prank, we will not take any chances with the health and well-being of our customers. We had no choice but to throw out all the product she came in contact with. Working closely with the Hanover Township health inspector, we identified every area that she was in, we disposed of the product and thoroughly cleaned and disinfected everything.”
Fasula also shared: “Although we have not yet quantified the total loss, we estimate the value to be well over $35,000. We are checking to see if our insurance company will cover it, but even if they do, our rates will surely go up next year. I am also absolutely sick to my stomach about the loss of food. While it is always a shame when food is wasted, in these times when so many people are worried about the security of our food supply, it is even more disturbing.”
People online are not taking these stories lightly. One commenter wrote: “People are really finding it funny to bring others in danger. I mean what the hell is wrong with you to think that this could be harmless? At this point coughing on things is like bringing a knife on a plane.”
Authorities across the country are working hard to slow this trend of disturbing pranks.
