A police department in North Carolina has released images of two men suspected of slipping razor blades under shopping cart handles at a local Walmart.
Siler City Police Department said in a release yesterday that one store reported several razor blades had been located under the right hand side of shopping buggy handles. As a result of the investigation, law enforcement said they had "established two persons of interest."
One suspect was described as a white male in his lower to mid-20s. Police said he is of thin build, has brown hair and was last seen driving a tan, late model Chevrolet Suburban.
A second suspect appeared to be around 40 years of age, 5'5" tall with a stocky build. He was described as a white male with brown hair and a thick heavy beard with a light mustache. The man was seen wearing a bright yellow hat. He was a passenger in the Chevrolet vehicle.
According to WSOC-TV, two people have been hurt by the blades. One was a store employee.
"I guess we have to be more precautious now," one local shopper, a mother-of-three, told WTVD during an on-air interview this week. "I generally try to check mine before I go in."
Police hope that releasing the images will lead to the men being identified by the community of Siler City, which is a town in Chatham County. A motive still remained unclear as of Tuesday morning. Officials said in a media release it "may be related to an attempt to shoplift."
Police said: "Please help us in identifying these two persons of interest in the razor blade case. If you have any information please contact Siler City Police Department at 919-742-5626. Detective Sergeant Jon Murray at the Siler City Police Department at (919) 742-5626."
In the comments under the department's Facebook post, officials added: "Be cautious at all stores, they [the two identified suspects] could go to any store with buggies." Online, users slammed the culprits' actions. "This mess is crazy," one person wrote on Facebook today.
"Don't people have anything better to do than sit there and harm others by putting sharp objects in grocery carts. What if a child was pushing the cart or a baby was sitting in the front and got cut up? There is a special place in hell for people who do this to people."
A spokesperson for the Walmart told WTVD, a North Carolina news outlet: "We are aware of the situation and are working closely with law enforcement. This is an active police investigation, and as such, we would refer any additional questions to them."
The Siler City Police Department has not yet commented further on the razor blade case.
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