The Springfield Police Department (SPD) detailed in a Friday social media post that the Springfield Police Detective Bureau needs help identifying a man who went into a Walmart on August 15 and allegedly accosted a number of shoppers.
According to the release, the man went up to one victim and removed an item from their hands before hugging them. The incident allegedly occurred around 7:10 p.m. local time.
“Just giving you a COVID hug. You now have COVID,” the man said, according to the victim, who police say is a cancer survivor.
The victim told the SPD that they had never seen the suspect prior to this interaction and that the mystery man let out a laugh as he walked away.
Authorities noted that this individual did similar things to other shoppers at the store.
Those with possible information on the suspect are being asked to contact the Detective Bureau or send the department tips via Facebook message.