FRAMINGHAM – Stop & Shop stores across Massachusetts had empty shelves on Monday due to a cyberattack.

Stop & Shop shelves empty

People walking into the store ready to stock up before Thanksgiving had to leave empty-handed.

“I can’t buy carrots. I can’t buy lettuce. The vegetables are slim and the meat department is low,” shopper Jim Noto said. “Very disappointing especially this time of the year. It’s just a shame because they are losing a lot of customers.”

“Empty. Completely empty! All of it,” said Maryanne Lambert, who could only get half of her grocery list.

“The produce just wasn’t there. It was awful. What’s going on?” Instacart shopper Tina Diblasi said. She is thinking of taking a vacation from the delivery service until the shelves are stocked again.

Shoppers said they are going to find another store to get their necessities ahead of the upcoming holiday.

Cybersecurity issue

Stop & Shop says it’s a cybersecurity issue affecting its parent company, Ahold Delhaize, and that they have placed signs in stores that tell customers it was because of an IT systems outage. 

“While there may be some limited inventory for certain products, we are working to re-stock our shelves and anticipate item availability to continue to improve over the next few days,” the store said in a statement.

Ahold Delhaize says it is investigating the issue and has told law enforcement about the breach. They are taking some systems offline to protect them.

“This issue and subsequent mitigating actions have affected certain Ahold Delhaize USA brands and services including a number of pharmacies and certain e-commerce operations,” Ahold Delhaize said in a statement.

Stop & Shop announced in July that it would be closing 32 stores across five states that were “underperforming.” Seven of those stores were in Massachusetts. The company donated all of the remaining food at the shuttered supermarkets to food shelters near their stores.

“Stop and Shop is a business in some trouble. It changed CEOs in September. They’re closing almost 1 in 10 of their stores even before this. It does seem to be targeting their financial transaction systems so they couldn’t manage payments but honestly, everything is vulnerable,” Professor of Food Economics and Policy at Tufts University in the Friedman School of Nutrition William Masters said.

Paul Burton

Paul Burton is a general assignment reporter for WBZ-TV News.

Paul Teal, an actor known for his recurring role on the TV series “One Tree Hill,” died on Friday after a battle with cancer, a representative for Teal confirmed to CBS News.

“His remarkable talent, along with his gentle spirit, has left an indelible mark on all of us fortunate enough to have known him,” Susan Tolar Walters of STW Talent Agency said in a statement on Monday. “The loss we feel in our hearts is immeasurable.”

The actor’s fiancée, Emilia Torello, shared a tribute to Teal in a Sunday Instagram post, calling him “the most thoughtful, inspiring, driven, self-disciplined, loving man.”

“Paul, you were my soulmate, my soon-to-be-husband, my rock, and my future. You filled my lungs with laughter, my stomach with butterflies, and my heart with love,” Torello wrote in the emotional post. “You were taken too soon, in a battle that you fought bravely without fail. While a part of me died with you, I promise to fight to find joy in life as hard as you fought to live every single day. The world is lucky to have even had a moment with Paul Teal, and I am the luckiest person in it, because I got to call you mine. I will love you forever.”

Teal, who played Josh in the seventh season of “One Tree Hill,” was also remembered by stars Sophia Bush and Bethany Joy Lenz.

Bush said she was “incredibly saddened to hear about the passing of Paul Teal. We are just starting to watch his OTH episodes on [“Drama Queens” podcast] and he’s such a talent.”

Lenz worked with Teal on “One Tree Hill” and on a musical production of “The Notebook.”

“He was too young to die. Far too young. I’m gutted,” she wrote in an Instagram post. “Paul, your time here was like a summer romance for all of us who knew you, especially if only for a season. Bursting, exciting, deeply moving, and unforgettable.”

Teal also appeared in “Outer Banks” and “The Staircase.” He was also part of the cast of “The Hunting Wives,” which is expected to premiere in 2025.