Teens reportedly coughed near grocery store produce for video, Virginia police say

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Police are warning parents to monitor their children's activity amid the coronavirus pandemic after two teens appeared to film themselves coughing on produce at a Virginia grocery store.

Employees from the Harris Teeter immediately threw out hundreds of dollars worth of produce and notified police, according to Lt. Barry A. Dufek of the Purcellville Police Department. Police notified the public of the incident last week and identified the juveniles involved using CCTV footage, notified their parents, and interviewed them.

The teens admitted to getting close to other patrons and coughing into their own sleeves, while filming on their phones, according to police.

"It appears they were trying to do it as a practical joke and a prank," Dufek said.

Officers reviewed the footage and found no actual customers or produce were spit or coughed on directly. Police determined there was no criminal intent and the identities and the video footage of the teens was not released because of their age.

Dufek said police contacted the Commonwealth Attorney but decided not to pursue charges and to instead focus on educating the teens and their parents about the severity of the situation.

Virginia's schools are closed and there are currently 219 confirmed cases of the COVID-19 in the state, according to the state’s department of health. The department said children and teenagers have more idle time because of the school closures and asked parents to explain why this kind of behavior is wrong.

"We still ask that parents continue to monitor their children’s activities, including social media viewing and posting, and to discourage the promotion of any such fear-inducing behavior," according to a Facebook post from the department.

Dufek said this is the first incident of its kind in Purcellville, but the police department called the video part of "a disturbing trend on social media across the country." The incident bears similarities to a video that emerged last year of a woman licking a tub of Blue Bell ice cream and putting it back on the shelf. That video was viewed more than 13 million times, several copycat videos were posted and multiple people were arrested.

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