There's been an undeniable uptick in violent crimes in the United States following the relaxation of many protective measures put in place to ease the spread of COVID-19. A recently published figure placed the number of mass shootings to occur in the country this year alone at a whopping 272.
In another heinous act of senseless violence, authorities in Decatur, Georgia are reporting that a supermarket cashier is dead and 1 off-duty sheriff's deputy is injured after gunfire erupted over a face mask dispute in a grocery store. Law enforcement officials say a male customer pulled out a gun after he "got into an argument with a cashier about his face mask."
The incident is said to have occurred on Monday (June 14) around 1:10 pm at the Big Bear Supermarket in Decatur when a man identified by authorities as 30-year-old Victor Lee Tucker, Jr. was checking out items and got into an argument with a cashier who requested he put his mask on.
"Tucker left the store without making his purchase, but immediately returned inside," a statement from the bureau read. "Tucker walked directly back to the cashier, pulled out a handgun and shot her."
Tucker then allegedly began firing at a DeKalb County Sheriff's deputy "who was attempting to intervene while working off-duty at the supermarket," officials said. The deputy then returned fire and both were injured in the shootout.
Responding officers from the DeKalb County Police Department arrested Tucker while he was "attempting to crawl out the front door of the supermarket." The unnamed cashier was transported to nearby Grady Memorial Hospital, where, according to local news sources, she was pronounced dead. Tucker was taken to the same hospital and remains in stable condition.
According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the police will issue arrest warrants for Tucker. The investigation is still ongoing at this time
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