Wal-Mart on red alert as more syringes found inside clothing

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Investigations are continuing into a spate of syringes found hidden inside clothing items at a Georgia Wal-Mart store. In the latest discoveries, two more syringes were unearthed in the Cartersville branch, according to the Bartow County authorities.

This brings the total number of needles found at the Cartersville Wal-Mart to nine since November 22, with at least two customers being jabbed by the needles since the first one was found. The company says it will pay the medical expenses of shoppers hurt by needles found in the store.

In one incident a woman was pricked when she reached inside a boxed bra to ensure it was the right size. “Am I going to die, basically, from this being in someone else’s body is what has been going through my mind,” Patricia Headrick said in an interview with WXIA-TV. “I’m scared to death,” she said, adding that she is worried she could have contracted HIV. “I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Other syringes needles have been found in Hello Kitty socks, a pair of trousers and pajamas all bought at the same Georgia store.

Company spokeswoman Dianna Gee said the store has a team dedicated to monitoring surveillance video. “We are continuing to partner with law enforcement to catch whoever is responsible for this senseless act,” Gee said in a statement on Saturday. “We are confident our surveillance cameras will identify that person.”

Police say so far they do not have a suspect or motive and they believe syringes have been found only at the Cartersville Wal-Mart. Investigators are using metal detecting wands to search the clothing at the store for needles.

The needles are being tested for any suspect DNA and to see if they were contaminated. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the victims could be at risk for contracting hepatitis or possibly human immunodeficiency virus, which causes AIDS.