A man gunned down a cashier inside a Georgia supermarket on Monday after taking a request to put on a face mask in the worst possible way.
Victor Lee Tucker Jr. also wounded an off-duty deputy who tried to intervene during the senseless shooting shortly after 1 p.m. at the Big Bear grocery store in DeKalb County.
The maskless 30-year-old from Palmetto, Georgia, got into an argument with the cashier after she asked him to don a face covering in order to comply with the store’s COVID-19 policy.
Tucker left without making a purchase but reappeared moments later brandishing a handgun, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
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He then allegedly shot the cashier in the back of the head, killing her, before exchanging gunfire with the off-duty officer, who was working part-time at the store as a security guard, 11Alive reported.
A witness named Alan Williams said the suspect hit the cashier with his gun and then shot her, before the deputy intervened and returned fire.
The deputy and the shooter were both struck during the gunfire exchange, authorities said.
The cashier, who has not yet been identified, was officially pronounced dead at Grady Memorial Hospital.
The officer, a 30-year veteran of the DeKalb County Police Department, was wearing a bulletproof vest at the time and is in stable condition at Atlanta Medical Center, DeKalb County Sheriff Melody Maddox said during a press conference.
Tucker was arrested while trying to crawl out through the front door of the supermarket, the GBI said.
He was also taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, where he was said to be in stable condition.