Pews removed from Gary council chambers after bed bugs found

GARY, Ind. (AP) - A man who showed up at a Gary City Council meeting infested with bed bugs prompted officials to remove two rows of seating from the building.

Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson tells The (Northwest Indiana) Times the parasitic insects were discovered in the council's chambers during Tuesday night's meeting after a man in the audience was found to be "covered in them."

Gary fire and police personnel promptly ordered people sitting in two pews to relocate before the seating was moved to a hallway, covered in plastic and removed from the building.

No explanation for the pews' removal was given to those attending Tuesday night's meeting, but Freeman-Wilson said afterward that it was prompted by the bed bugs' discovery.

Bed bugs can move through a person's clothing, luggage, backpacks, upholstery and furniture.

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Information from: The Times, http://www.nwitimes.com