PINEVILLE, NC (AP) - A pregnant woman shopping at Staples says she was confronted about what she was concealing beneath her shirt: "Twins," she said.
Sherell Bates told the media she was at the register paying for back-to-school supplies Friday when a police officer had her step aside and explain what was under her shirt.
Bates says she explained that she's 34 weeks pregnant with a boy and a girl, but he didn't believe her, so she lifted up her shirt to expose her belly. She says "no mom should have to go through that."
A Staples statement says a manager at the store in Pineville, North Carolina, "mistakenly thought they were possibly shoplifting." It says the manager apologized and the transaction was refunded, because "we want all customers to feel welcome in our store."
Staples subsequently said in a statement Monday that the manager of the Pineville store "did not follow correct protocol" and was fired.
