A Philadelphia woman was arrested for allegedly spitting on two people on two separate occasions at Di Bruno Bros, a store located at Center City, Philadelphia, over the weekend.

The accused, identified as 27-year-old Jacqueline McBride, reportedly spat on a female customer following an altercation over social distancing amidst the coronavirus pandemic on Sunday. Meanwhile, police officers also mentioned that the suspect also spat on a male employee at the same store following an argument on Saturday.

One of the victims, identified as 36-year-old Alexis Danilo, stated that she was waiting in line to buy groceries from the store when McBride came too close to her, breaking the social distancing guidelines. She mentioned that she moved out of the way, however, things quickly escalated when the suspect bumped into her, which led to a dispute between the two.

“She came too close to me and I just backed away from her, and I guess that upset her,” said Danilo while adding, "I felt someone bump into me and I said, 'That was rude, there's a pandemic going on right now.'”

The suspect rudely responded by mentioning that she did not have the virus and proceeded to attack the victim.

"She said, 'I'll fight you right now' and then took off her mask and spit in my face," Danilo added while recalling the incident.

“Luckily, I was wearing glasses and a mask and I had gloves on,” she said while adding that everyone at the Di Bruno Bros store was nice to her and the staff quickly came to her aid when the incident occurred.

On Thursday afternoon, Philadelphia Mayor, Jim Kenney, spoke about the incident: “It’s unconscionable and criminal. We hope the police find her and get her someplace she can’t spit on anybody. I think people start losing their minds a little bit and it’s understandable but that’s an assault, it’s aggravated assault to knowingly do that to make people ill, intentionally.”

McBride was arrested on Thursday night and charged with simple assault, terroristic threats, and harassment.

Meanwhile, Danilo said she did not show any symptoms of the virus, however, she self-quarantined following the incident.

“I think the cops did a great job responding so quickly. I’m just happy she’s not going to do it to anybody else,” she added.

coronavirus pandemic shopping in the market
The global pandemic could alter the present generation's financial behavior making them risk-averse. Jacques Bopp - Unsplash
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