A Barberton couple is concerned for shoppers and children after they found a razor in a Walmart shopping cart handle.
The incident occurred at a Walmart located in the 200 block of Smokers Drive. Cheryl Johnson spoke with Cleveland 19 News, stating she and her husband, Mel, were shopping at night when her husband went to move an abandoned shopping cart out of the aisle. That is when Johnson felt a sharp poke and realized he cut himself with a razor. It was sticking out of the shopping cart’s handle.
The blade, as shown in the picture taken by Cheryl, was upside down. Luckily, her husband was only pricked by its edge. The Johnsons reported it to Walmart staff and management and filed an incident report with the store.
Johnson says she’s afraid this is something that might be going on nationally. So she is trying to alert customers as much as she can to avoid any more accidents.
So why are people finding razor blades stuck to carts? Walmart officials said it’s becoming an issue for many retailers. Shoplifters use razors to cut off tags from the merchandise. Usually, the shoplifters remove the blade or place it backward so it doesn’t harm anyone, but that would mean that shoplifters are all a bit more considerate than we’d expect. And I wouldn’t bet on that.
When Walmart was reached for a comment, the corporate office confirmed the Wadsworth incident. They stated razor blades being stashed in Walmart shopping cart handles is indeed something that is happening across the United States. Not just Walmart, but many retailers.
This isn’t the first incident that occurred at a Walmart. In 2015, a woman in Dawson was shopping at her local Walmart, when her son noticed something underneath the handles while using a wipe to clean the edges.
Lisa Zimmerman said her son told her something metal was poking out of the handle. She discovered a long surgical razor blade, embedded in the handle. Zimmerman was terrified, saying she likely would have sliced her hand if she hadn’t wiped the handle with a sanitizing wipe before.
Zimmerman’s local Walmart also responded to the incident. They said store workers immediately checked other shopping carts but found no other razor blades. The store also checked surveillance footage for potential suspects, but couldn’t find any information.
The average cost per shoplifting incident doubled in 2017 to $798.48, according to the National Retail Federation.
Watch the video below for more details:
Sources: AWM, Cleveland 19 News
