According to the Metropolitan Police, a man in London was taken into police custody Wednesday “on suspicion of contamination of goods with intention of causing public harm or anxiety” after he allegedly used needles to inject food at several grocery stores.
Metropolitan Police were responding to reports of an individual shouting at people in the street when they learned that he had visited three supermarkets—Little Waitrose, Sainsbury’s Local, and Tesco Express—and “injected foodstuffs with a number of needles.” Authorities believe the unidentified man tampered with processed meat and microwaveable products, but remain unsure if he contaminated other items.
“It is a bit a worrying because I was buying milk at the time and the police were escorting everyone out,” a Little Waitrose shopper told BBC. “It was quite panicky because we didn’t know what was going on.” All three stores have been closed in the meantime.
“Members of the public are advised as a precaution to dispose of any food items bought from these supermarkets this evening,” police said.
Investigators are still trying to figure out what was inside the syringes he used.
