“What kind of psychopathic behavior is this?”
There has been consternation about a video of a woman licking a box of ice cream in a department store in Texas in the United States and then putting it back in the freezer rack. The images were shared on Twitter five days ago and already viewed by over 11 million people. The horror is great.
The video shows how a young woman with glasses took the lid off a box of Blue Bell’s brand ice cream and took a stiff lick. Then she puts the box back in the freezer rack and runs away. The images were shared by a Twitter user, who added: “What kind of psychopathic behavior is this?”
“Disgusting”
There were thousands of reactions coming in from outgunned people. “This is disgusting,” it sounded like, among other things. And also, “this is gross. Not funny.”
Some also wondered why it was that the box of ice was not closed with a foil so that you as a consumer know for sure that it has not been open yet.
Blue Bell – which has its headquarters in Texas – then posted a message on its website saying that it takes the matter seriously and “does not tolerate this kind of behavior.” “During production, our boxes are turned upside down and taken to a freezer room, where the lids are firmly frozen on the cardboard,” the company further explained to reassure its customers. “Any attempt to open the box afterward should be visible.”
Many Twitterers hoped aloud that the woman would be traced and punished. Blue Bell soon said it was working with the police and social media users to find out who the young woman was. And that seems to have succeeded in the meantime.
After all, Blue Bell also asked all of its division heads whether they recognized the store in the film. “Within the hour, a division head from Lufkin called (halfway between Houston and Dallas, ed.), Who said he believed it was about the Walmart in Lufkin,” said police from the town in question on a Facebook announcement. “He based himself on the unique way in which the store does merchandise. It corresponded with what was shown on the video.”
Security images
Blue Bell immediately informed the police that it could have removed the box of ice in question from the rack. A few hours later, the police had the security images of the department store in their hands and the presumed perpetrator was visible on it. Investigators meanwhile think they have identified the woman. However, the police do not want to say anything more about the suspect.
The head of the Public Security Department at Lufkin assures “that an appropriate indictment will be filed”. “Our biggest concern is the safety of our consumers,” said Gerald Williamson on the Facebook page of the police. “We are therefore pleased that the ‘contaminated’ product has been removed from the racks.”
Blue Bell left nothing to chance in that regard. “As a precaution, we have removed all the boxes of the product concerned from the racks of the Walmart in Lufkin,” it still sounds on the site.
According to Lufkin’s police, there is a prison sentence of 2 to 20 years for tampering with products intended for consumption. She explained that to the USA TODAY magazine.
