Coronavirus: Teenager who allegedly bragged about spreading virus in Snapchat video wanted by police
Police say they will be charging the 18-year-old with making a terroristic threat
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Your support makes all the difference.An 18-year-old who allegedly boasted on Snapchat about having coronavirus and spreading it to the general public is being searched for by local police.
Authorities accused Texas teenager Lorraine Maradiaga of claiming in a social media video to be Covid-19 positive and intending to willfully spread the disease, in a statement on Facebook.
Police said in the statement they will be charging the 18-year-old with making a terroristic threat.
However, they have not yet located the teenager and are asking the public for information about her whereabouts.
In a video obtained by KXAS-TV, the teenager is said to arrive at what appears to be a drive-thru testing site for Covid-19, according to the outlet.
The nurse at the site can be heard ordering the teenager to go home, the report said.
In the next series of videos, Maradiaga is shown shopping at what she claims is Walmart, according to the broadcaster.
“I’m here at Walmart about to infest every (expletive), because if I’m going down, all you (expletive) are going down,” she allegedly says in the video.
“If you want to get the coronavirus and (expletive) die, call me,” the person in the video says, according to KXAS-TV.
“We have no confirmation Maradiaga is actually a threat to public health,” Carrollton Texas Police Department wrote.
“We are, however, taking her social media actions very seriously.”
This is not the first incident of authorities taking action against individuals for coronavirus-related incidents, with officials taking attempts to seemingly intentionally spread the disease very seriously.
A woman in Pennsylvania was charged with threats to use a “biological agent” and criminal mischief after she coughed on groceries, meats and bakery products in what was described to be a “twisted prank”, according to KOMO News.
In Los Angeles, a delivery man was fired after being caught on a recording spitting on an Amazon package when dropping it off.
Police have asked that anyone with information about Ms Maradiaga’s whereabouts call (972) 466-3333 or email CrimeTips@CityofCarrollton.com.
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