Texas police identify ice cream licker as juvenile girl (UPDATED)

UPDATE: LUFKIN, Texas (AP) — Police in East Texas say a teenager from San Antonio is suspected of taking a tub of ice cream from a Walmart freezer, removing the top to lick the ice cream and then returning it to the freezer.

Blue Bell Creameries said in a statement that it determined a Walmart store in Lufkin was where "the malicious act of food tampering took place."

A short video posted to social media last week shows the teenage girl laughing as she places the top back on the half-gallon container and returning it to the freezer.

Blue Bell says the container that was "compromised" was found and removed.

The company says "food tampering is not a joke."

Lufkin police previously said the suspect faced a felony charge of tampering with a consumer product.

It's not clear how she may be charged now that she's been identified as a juvenile.

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A few days ago a video went viral of a woman in Texas licking a tub of Blue Bell ice cream before putting it back in the Walmart store's freezer. It now appears that police in Lufkin have identified the woman.

Though the investigation is ongoing, detectives for the Lufkin Police Department believe they know the identity of the culprit. They have not released her name yet, but say "appropriate charges will be filed."

Lufkin Director of Public Safety Gerald Williamson said he recommended that Blue Bell remove products from the Lufkin Walmart shelves until their investigation is complete.

Since the video went viral, a lot of people have asked the question, "why doesn't Blue Bell seal their lids?"

Officials with Blue Bell said that during production their half-gallon ice creams are flipped upside down and sent to a hardening room where the ice cream freezes to the lid to create a natural seal. This makes any tampered product noticeable.