Razor Blades Found in Michigan Gas Station Pump, Police Warn

A gas pump is covered with a plastic bag AP Photo/David Goldman

Razor blades were recently discovered hidden inside a gas pump at a station in Michigan, and it’s not the first time.

Several weeks ago, razor blades were found hidden inside pumps at several North Carolina gas stations. Before that, they were found in a city in Texas.

On April 16, according to the Coloma Township Police Department in Michigan, a gas station reported that a razor blade fell from a gas pump handle when a motorist picked it up.

One blade was newer and the other was rusty, according to the report, which said they were found at the Speedway station on Church Street.

Coloma Township Police Chief Wes Smigielski said the razors were found in an area where a person could squeeze the pump, suggesting it was a deliberate act. Six more razors were found on the pump itself, he said.

Investigators are trying to figure out who placed the razor blades in the pump, MLive reported.

So far, he said, “hours and hours” of footage has been reviewed by officials, but they have not figured it out.

Smigielski said there are no other reports of blades being found in gas handles in the surrounding areas.

“Please be vigilant and inspect handles prior to use,” the police department warned on Facebook.

MLive noted that anyone who might have seen something amiss should call the police department at 269-468-8291.

Meanwhile, in March, police in Archdale, North Carolina, called on drivers to be vigilant of blades in pump handles before they fill up, Fox8 reported.

Patricia Breese, the manager of the BP on Main Street in Archdale, told the station that she located a razor blade. “It could’ve been an attempt to put a razor blade inside of the handle,” Breese said. “You have to worry about things like infections and contaminations or just getting badly hurt,” she added.

“We should be able to go out and get gas without having to worry about something being on the gas pump,” a concerned driver said, reported ABC11.

“Kids could be pumping gas for their parents, so a kid could’ve been the one to grab that,” noted Sabrina Kress, another driver.

Police in Walburg, North Carolina, said a blade was also found in a handle at a Sheetz.

WBTV reported in March that another blade was found at a Siler City gas station pump. It comes days after an elderly woman was cut when someone taped a razor to her door handle.

Bobby Nicholas told the station that a razor blade was hidden in the rubber grip of the pump at a Circle K on Highway 64 in Siler City. He pulled it out before the blade fell.

In Victoria, Texas, Victoria Police Department officers responded to a report of a rusty razor blade located in a pump handle in March 2018.

A customer saw the blade fall from the handle, a police spokesman told the Victoria Advocate.

“If you can, visibly inspect gas pump handles prior to lifting them, and if you notice anything suspicious, report it and move to a different pump,” Officer David Brogger said.

Over the years, there have been reports of people taping razor blades to the bottom of shopping cart handles across the United States. In March 2019, six blades were found taped inside a Walmart in Siler City, North Carolina, according to WKRG.