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In January 2016, a piece began circulating on social media holding that a 17-year-old Christian boy had stood his ground in a Scheels (not Shield's) sporting goods and entertainment chain store outlet in St. Cloud, Minnesota, when he was allegedly asked to cover his offensive cross by a hijab-clad Muslim cashier: This narrative bore a striking similarity to a prolific urban legend about a similarly angry hijab-wearing cashier and a customer with a flag pin, various versions of which circulated as early as 2003. We attempted to locate a Shield's store in the area of St. Cloud, Minnesota, but found only a retailer of similar description called Scheels. We contacted the Scheels location in question and spoke with a manager, who immediately recognized the rumor to which we were referring. He maintained that the narrative was completely fabricated and advised us that prior to the Shield's version of the story, the same story had been attached to a local Walmart. The St. Cloud Times also published a fact check article which referenced an alleged incident at a St. Cloud Wal-Mart that [had] been widely shared on Facebook, noting that: The St. Cloud Times contacted both St. Cloud-area Walmarts and eventually made contact with Walmart spokesman Kory Lundberg. Lundberg told the newspaper that the chain had learned of and investigated the claim but ultimately deemed it unfounded: We also contacted Walmart to inquire whether any further information about the rumor had emerged but did not receive a reply by publication time.
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