''It happened so quick and I was in shock''.
Footage appearing to show a woman coughing in the direction of a baby in a frozen yoghurt shop in California has been released by the San Jose Police Department.
The woman was allegedly “upset” the one-year-old’s mother wasn’t maintaining proper social distancing.
With the alleged assault occurred at Yogurtland in San Jose on the afternoon of Friday, June 12.
Social or physical distancing in the US is staying at least six feet (1.8 metres) from others, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.
“The preliminary investigation revealed the suspect was upset the female was not maintaining proper social distancing, so the suspect removed her face mask, got close to the baby’s face, and coughed two to three times,” the San Jose Police Department said in a statement.
Mireya Mora, the baby's mother said the woman believed she was standing too close behind her in the queue.
“Coughing on someone’s face. She did it on purpose, it’s not that she did it ‘oh cough, cough’ on accident, no, she purposely coughed on my son’s face,” she told ABC7 News on Sunday.
“It happened so quick and I was in shock.
“She got close, she took off her mask really fast and she coughed on my son’s face.”
On Facebook, she shared CCTV from the store, captioned: “This woman needs to pay for what she did to a baby! MY BABY!!”
“She can do this again to anyone’s baby, help me find this woman.”
Police on Monday said the suspect left the scene and was yet to be identified or apprehended.
