Chicago Walmart Temporarily Closed Over ‘Mouse Droppings’

A Chicago Walmart was temporarily closed due to mouse droppings, according to a local report.

WGN-TV reported on Aug. 7 that customers at the Austin Walmart on North Ave. in the city were turned away because the store was closed.

The health department had a notice posted on the store, which said, “License suspended.”

Walmart issued a statement about the closure. “Our store on North Avenue is temporarily closed as we address a situation following a City of Chicago inspection. We have stringent quality standards in place and are working closely with the health department. We take this matter seriously and will reopen as soon as possible. We apologize for any inconvenience to our customers,” a statement reads.

Alderman Emma Mitts, a local official, told WGN-TV that health officials inspected the store because of mouse droppings. When the officials came back on Aug. 7, they discovered more.

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“They were over around the deli and bread area mainly in that part. Whoever did the initial clean up may not have been as attentive to what the health inspectors would be looking for,” Mitts said of the droppings.

A former employee at that Walmart location told Fox32 that rats are an issue.

“It was especially prominent on the overnight shift because the store was quieter. And you could see on camera the rats going from the breakroom to the sink, then out onto the sales floor,” the former employee, who was not named, told the station. “It was very common to see rats throughout the day. At any given moment, even if we were talking to a co-worker in the back room, you could see, out of the corner of your eye, see a rat run past them.”

Meanwhile, a 17-year-old male was arrested for stealing a Walmart mobility scooter in Summerville, South Carolina, and video footage of the incident was released in early August, according to NBC16. Police officers were called for a low-speed chase with the suspect before detaining him and returning the scooter to Walmart.