Teens faked sneezing on Walmart shoppers in COVID-19 prank video, WV cops say
A pair of teen pranksters thought it would be funny to fake sneeze on shoppers at a local Walmart, but authorities say the incident is no laughing matter.
The incident unfolded at a Walmart in Nitro, West Virginia, on Sunday evening, Police Chief Bobby Eggleton told WOWK. The teens, he said, pretended to sneeze on people while claiming they were infected with the coronavirus.
Several customers also said the teens filmed the hijnk on their phones and spritzed customers with a spray bottle to play up their “prank,” WOWK reported. It was store management who called police, investigators told WSAZ.
Eggleton said the teens, who are from St. Albans, now face possible charges of terroristic threats.
“These people are scared out here,” the police chief said, according to local station WCHS 8. “We have people wearing masks everyday to try and stay safe and healthy, and then we have two teenagers who think it is funny to come out here and do this. I don’t think it is funny a bit. I think it is criminal.
As of Tuesday, West Virginia had nearly 930 confirmed cases of coronavirus, according to the state Department of Health and Human Resources. The virus has killed 26 residents.
“I think the parents really need to have a long talk with these people, and they probably need a little counseling when it is all said and done,” Eggelton said, according to WCHS. “We’re not going to put up with it. We are going to punish these people if we can with the prosecutors office.”
Police detained both teens in the Walmart parking lot, according to WSAZ. Authorities said criminal charges are pending.
This story was originally published April 21, 2020 at 6:04 PM.