Coronavirus: Grocery store customers tackle man after he allegedly coughed, spat on produce

KINGSTON, Mass. — A Duxbury, Massachusetts, man could face criminal charges for allegedly spitting and coughing onto produce at a Stop and Shop in Kingston. Police are still investigating what happened after bystanders tackled that customer for causing this disturbance.

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“It’s terrifying and no one should ever do that, even if it is a joke,” said Kyle Mann, who was shopping at that Stop and Shop on Saturday.

There, in Kingston, was where Mann saw a customer starting to get violent. He recorded video as bystanders tackled and pinned that man down until police arrived. Witnesses told police that man had coughed and spit on some produce.

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“Especially with the CDC now recommending everyone wear face masks, someone doing this makes people more uncomfortable for people to leave their house to get necessary items,” Mann said. “And it’s honestly disgraceful.”

At this point, Kingston police say they have no reason to believe that individual has COVID-19, but he was taken to a hospital in Plymouth out of an abundance of caution.

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Police also say the individual is no longer allowed inside that Stop and Shop.

“I had a mask on and I had gloves on and I was a pretty good distance away, so I was not really concerned about my health,” Mann said. “But I was concerned about the employees and the customers that were near him.”

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A Stop and Shop spokesperson told Boston's WFXT that the safety and wellbeing of their customers and associates is a top priority. The spokesperson released the following statement:

"The customer’s actions were not in accordance with CDC guidelines, which we have been consistently encouraging all shoppers and associates to follow to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. We have discarded potentially affected product and conducted a deep cleaning and sanitizing of all impacted areas. The Board of Health has inspected the store and affirmed the store is safe for shoppers."

“I think it’s horrible,” Mann said of the incident. “Especially with a possibility of food scarcity because there’s so many people buying all the food. So you just waste all this food.”

Mann says he’s glad both police and the store employees took the incident very seriously, especially at a time like this.