'You now have COVID': Massachusetts police hunt suspect who gave shoppers 'coronavirus hugs' at a Walmart

• In Springfield, Massachusetts, police are searching for a man who approached shoppers in Walmart, hugged them, and then claimed he was infected with COVID-19.
• The man, seen wearing a mask on CCTV, walked up to one shopper, hugged him, and said: "Just giving you a COVID hug," before laughing and walking away, police have said.
• One of the victims of the potentially dangerous, unwanted hugs was a cancer survivor.
• The suspect faces charges of assault and battery and making terroristic threats.
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Police in Massachusetts are hunting for a man who targeted shoppers in Walmart to give them"coronavirus hugs."

In one instance, the suspect walked up to a man, took an item out of his hands, and hugged him, according to a Facebook post by the Springfield Police Department.

He then told the man: "Just giving you a COVID hug. You now have COVID," before laughing and walking away. 

Police said the victim, who is a cancer survivor, said he had never met the man before.

The suspect reportedly embraced other customers as well.

Seen wearing a face mask in surveillance footage, the unidentified man faces charges of assault and battery and making terroristic threats if caught by the police, the New York Post reported.

According to 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, the paper reported

The police department is asking that anyone with information contact them.

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• French Riviera restaurants and clubs are shutting down one by one as maskless partiers and lax rules cause a coronavirus outbreak
• A Lowe's shopper who saw mask-less people swarming her local store has launched a petition with 115,000 signatures begging the company to take action — and it shows a growing problem for retailers

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