Marin County

Vandal Throws Chemicals, ‘Human Waste' on Meat Counter at Novato Grocery

Authorities are looking for a man who walked into a grocery store in California's North Bay and threw a bag containing "human waste," rubbing alcohol and paint onto the meat counter Sunday evening, forcing the store to close amid a hazardous materials investigation.

Harvest Market in Novato reopened Monday morning after the Marin County Hazardous Materials Response team and the Novato Fire Department cleaned up the mess at the San Marin Shopping Center and deemed the store safe.

Battalion Chief Jeff Veliquette said firefighters got a call around 5 p.m. reporting someone had come into the store and tossed a bag of liquid onto counter. The bag "exploded and splashed" around the meat counter and down to the floor.

"It turned out to be a combination of some human waste product and a few other things," Veliquette said, adding that it "sounded like there was a disgruntled person of some sort."

A store manager told NBC Bay Area on Monday a person was kicked out of the shop Saturday after he was accused of shoplifting.

Investigators are trying to run down leads after hearing that someone had a bad experience at the store within the last few days.
 

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