Who is he? Ashburnham man spits on female hikers for not wearing masks. Massachusetts police are seeking to identify a man who spat on the women while also telling them he had COVID.
And it continues. Massachusetts cops are looking for a man they say spat at two female hikers who weren’t wearing face masks — and upon having spat on the two women, told them he had COVID-19.
Video of the ‘interaction’ shows the un-identified man approaching the women as they hiked along the Hudson Overlook on the Midstate Trail in Ashburnham on Nov. 15.
He was caught on video (see below) spitting at the woman who was filming the encounter.
‘I have COVID,’ the man is heard saying in video captured by the victims. ‘I’ve been tested positive.’
It’s at this point the man inexplicably spits before spitting a second time at one of the woman filming the confrontation.
Do you know him? Ashburnham Police are searching for this man who said “I have COVID” and spit at two women who weren’t wearing masks. https://t.co/ZJREn6bZMk #boston25 pic.twitter.com/hTBHWl1d3Y
— Boston 25 News (@boston25) November 20, 2020
‘Are you OK?’ one of the female hikers asks.
‘No!’ the man replies.
The identities of the hikers to date has not been released by police.
The Ashburnham Police Department in a Facebook release said the man told the hikers it was the ‘law’ to wear masks and that they were ‘irresponsible’ for not doing so.
Police provided a minute-long video to CNN in which the man asks, ‘You’re not wearing a mask?’
‘I don’t care, I’m not gonna wear a mask when I’m outside,’ one of the women replies.
‘That’s not the law, that’s not the law,’ says the man.
Who is he?
Police said the man could face an assault charge and a charge of false threat of a biological agent. The man is believed to be in his late 60s to early 70s and about 5 feet 11 inches tall with gray facial hair and light blue glasses.
A new order from Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker effective November 6 states that people are required to wear face masks in public locations, both indoor and outdoor, regardless of whether they are able to physically distance themselves from others.
The incident is one of many episodes in which individuals have openly clashed over wearing face masks, with the protective gear symbolizing a kind of stance on individual will and rights vs that of collective mandate to check the ongoing coronavirus ravaging effects in society.
