Walmart employee says he's 'guarding' Blue Bell pints with water gun after viral ice cream incident

A Walmart employee guards a freezer of Blue Bell ice cream with a water gun after a viral video depicted a Texas teen licking the top of the ice cream and returning the carton to a freezer. (Photo: Facebook)
A Walmart employee guarded the Blue Bell ice cream section with a water gun after a viral video depicted a Texas teen licking an open container and returning it to the freezer. (Photo: Facebook)

After a video of a woman licking a tub of Blue Bell ice cream and putting it back in the freezer at a Texas Walmart went viral, one employee posed for a photo in front of the Blue Bell ice cream case armed with a water gun.

The Corpus Christi worker who appeared in a now-deleted Facebook post, wrote, "We're guarding our Blue Bell ice cream for your weekend party, what a great way to cool down in the Hot Texas heat!"

The post appeared to be a tongue-in-cheek jab at the culprit who licked a tub of "Tin Roof" Blue Bell ice cream at a Walmart in Lufkin, Texas.

"Yeah, I really did that," she wrote in a June 28 post on Instagram, before deactivating her account. "You can call it Flu Bell ice cream now 'cause I was a lil sick last week. Repost yourself doing this with the hashtag #tinroofchallenge. Let's see if we can start an epidemic (literally)."

The Lufkin Police Department identified the suspect as a San Antonio resident on Friday but won’t be releasing her name because she’s a minor. The Lufkin Police Department has since turned over the case to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department.

The Federal Anti-Tampering Act was passed in 1983, by a 292-0 vote in the House following cyanide poisonings in 1982 during the Chicago Tylenol murders. The drug tampering, in which potassium cyanide was laced into Tylenol-branded acetaminophen, resulted in the death of seven people in Chicago and inspired hundreds of copycats around the United States.

Pharmaceutical, food, and consumer product industries developed tamper-resistant packaging following the crime, like induction seals, and the federal law was ultimately put into place. The Chicago poisonings remain unsolved.

"Our staff recognized the location in the video, and we inspected the freezer case. We found a Tin Roof half gallon that appears to have been compromised. Based on security footage, the location and the inspection of the carton, we believe we may have recovered the half gallon that was tampered with. Out of an abundance of caution, we have also removed all Tin Roof half gallons from that location," Blue Bell Creameries said in a statement. "During production, our half gallons are flipped upside down and sent to a hardening room where the ice cream freezes to create a natural seal. The lids are frozen tightly to the carton. Any attempt at opening the product should be noticeable."

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