On December 29, 2022, a Facebook image showed a man knocking on doors pretending to be homeless and attacking people.
“The public around Elizabeth, NJ is being warned to be alert and Vigilant,” reads a text on the post.
Last Friday, this man attacked a 32-year-old single mom with a knife, leaving her to struggle for her life.
This post has been shared more than 800 times in one week. In addition, people posted nearly identical posts claiming that the same man attacked people in Greenville, South Carolina, Sarasota County, and Florida.
The man was previously arrested in Utica, New York, for commercial burglary.
Local officials said that the posts of the man attacking people were false.
The viral post says the person’s name is “Tariq Husic.” However, Dana Judge, a Sarasota county sheriff’s office spokesperson, said she doesn’t know such a person.
The judge said that she searched for the database and she found no history with this name.
Dozens of posts and images have been put up saying these posts, and this news is fake.
USA TODAY has exposed similar scam posts, including showing a man stealing catalytic converters in various locations throughout the country or images of an abandoned baby or an injured dog.
This scam has been exposed by the lead story as well.