Walmart Customers Might Die After Getting Poked With Needles

Why is it that every time something insane happens in a retail environment, it's at a Walmart

and almost always in the South?

This time, a handful of customers are waiting out six-month periods to find out if they've acquired HIV or Hepatitis after being pricked by syringes left tucked into random goods inside the Cartersville, Georgia Walmart. "I felt something stick me in the finger and I was like, 'what is that'?" Courtney Worthington, 14, told 11Alive News (local NBC affiliate) in an exclusive interview Wednesday. The eight-grader felt a syringe needle poke her foot and finger as she was trying on pajamas that her mother had purchased for her days earlier. Oddly enough, this wasn't the first time this month that customers turned up to complain that they, too, were pricked by syringes while shopping. Patricia Headrick of Cartersville was poked by a syringe after opening a bra package. Headrick went to a local medical center for care, on advice of the store's manager. "I'm thinking in my mind, you hear all the horror stories about the drug stuff; you pass out, and people can rob you," she said. "Everything started going through my mind. Whose arm was this in; whose body - was this a used needle; am I going to die based on this being in someone's body? I've been on a rollercoaster all weekend." Officials have found syringes in several other items across the store, but have no other reported incidents of shoppers being poked by the needles. Unfortunately for Headrick and Worthington, there's no way to tell if they've been contaminated with a deadly virus like HIV, or if they were just a victim of a terrible prank. It can take six months for the HIV virus to develop, although some of the HIV treatment drugs can be used to prevent infection. Headrick will have to pay around $1,300 for a week's worth of the drug. She says Walmart refuses to pay unless the syringes were put there by an employee. That appears to be refuted by what the national chain said today. "Walmart has reached out to Ms. Headrick," Walmart spokesperson Dianna Gee said. "If any of our customers were harmed, we will gladly pay for any valid medical expenses." Gee also said that Walmart has examined all the clothing in the department and have found no other syringes. Walmart security is also reviewing surveillance tapes in hopes of discovering a lead or a suspect.