Black Friday shopper finds syringes in purse

We’ve all heard the horror stories about shopping on Black Friday. They usually involve shoppers pushing and shoving.

But that’s not the same kind of horror story one woman experienced in Colorado Springs.

Rowena Stabetta says what she found inside of a purse she was about to buy, is much worse. Stabetta went shopping at the ARC Thrift on North Academy in Colorado Springs. That’s where a tan purse caught her eye.

“I pull it up to look at the outside of it then I reach my hand in to feel the lining and I pull out what I think is a pen, and it’s an uncapped syringe,” said Stabetta.

She says at least four dirty syringes were inside the purse. Stabettah says she immediately pulled an ARC employee aside.

“She says, ‘We’re going to look into it. We think someone dumped the belongings into the bag.’ I mean, is that possible? I guess so. But I think they just didn’t sort through it. She said there could be room for error in the back where the bags are sorted,” said Stabetta.

A spokesperson for ARC tells KRDO that all ARC donations are thoroughly checked and inspected before they go on sale. They say, in this case, the bag didn’t go through that process because it wasn’t a donation.

A written statement from ARC reads, “The item in question does not fit store protocol for the resale of donated items due to its poor quality and the way in which it was priced and tagged.”

“They’re stating that someone must have come in and swapped their bag then stapled a price tag to it. I don’t carry around a stapler in my bag. I don’t know if you do,” said Stabetta.

ARC also says they’re reviewing surveillance video and conducting a thorough investigation.

“My intent is not to take business from the ARC. I think they’re a wonderful organization that does a lot for the community. But I do think it’s totally acceptable for us as customers to expect that they hold a certain level of safety and standard,” said Stabetta.

ARC also says it takes these matters very seriously and considers the safety of employees and shoppers of the utmost importance.