3 more syringes found in Walmart clothes

CARTERSVILLE, Ga., Dec. 6 (UPI) -- Three more syringes were found in clothes purchased at a Georgia Walmart, bringing to eight the total number of needles found since last week, officials said.

The Bartow County Sheriff's Office announced one customer had discovered a needle in a pair of pants she bought at the Cartersville Walmart Black Friday but did not wear until the weekend, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Another shopper told sheriff's deputies she found a syringe in men's pants purchased at the northern Georgia store, and a store manager helping investigators discovered one in another pair of pants, Bartow Sheriff Clark Millsap said.

A shopper was pricked with a needle while reaching inside a pocket of a pair of jeans last Tuesday, and syringes were later found inside a boxed bra, pajamas and socks.

Investigators said they had no suspect or motive and they believe syringes have been found only at the Cartersville Walmart.

At least two customers have been pricked, the Journal-Constitution said, and the store has agreed to pay medical expenses of those injured by the needles.

Those pricked could be at risk of contracting hepatitis or human immunodeficiency virus if the needles are contaminated, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta said. The needles have been sent to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab for testing.

The syringes appear to be the type commonly used by diabetics and could have been purchased without a prescription at any pharmacy.

Sheriff's investigators were working with Walmart employees to review store surveillance footage.