Suspects Enter Walmart with ‘Caution I Have the Coronavirus’ Sign, Spray Substance on $7K in Produce

Police are looking for two suspects who caused nearly $10,000 in damage at an Illinois Walmart after they entered the store carrying a sign that read, “Caution I Have the Coronavirus” and sprayed a mystery substance on different areas of the store.

Joliet Police responded to the Walmart store off Route 59 shortly after 4 p.m. on Tuesday. One of the men was caught on surveillance video spraying an aerosol-like substance on produce, clothing, health, and beauty products, according to a Facebook post from the Joliet Police Department.

The individual who sprayed the substance, which later turned out to be Lysol, wore a yellow face mask and carried a sign on his back, saying, “Caution I Have the Coronavirus.”

Walmart employees told the police that an estimated $7,300 worth of produce was damaged, and cleanup efforts would cost the store more than $2,400.

Both suspects are believed to be in their 20s and were last seen leaving the scene in a white 2003 GMC Yukon registered in Oswego, Illinois.

Police are asking anyone with information about the identity of the individuals to contact the Joliet Police Department’s Investigation Unit at 815-724-3020 or Detective Ryan Myers at 815-724-3056.

The coronavirus has claimed nearly 500 lives and infected more than 20,000 people around the world as of Wednesday afternoon.

Governments have declared states of emergencies while companies have shuttered their offices to prevent the spread of the virus. The Italian government declared a state of emergency due to the public health risk of the virus, and Apple Inc. announced that it would be shutting down its stores and corporate offices in China to prevent the spread of the disease.