1 dead, 2 injured after Georgia grocery store mask dispute

Two people are wounded and one person is dead following a shooting on Monday at a Georgia grocery store that was sparked by an argument over the store’s COVID-19 mask policy.

The incident occurred at a Big Bear grocery in DeKalb County, Georgia at around 1:10 p.m., according to a statement from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The shooter, Victor Lee Tucker, Jr., 30, reportedly got into an argument with a cashier over the store’s mask policy as he was checking out.

“Tucker left the store without making his purchase, but immediately returned inside. Tucker walked directly back to the cashier, pulled out a handgun and shot her,” the GBI said in a statement. The cashier was declared dead after being taken to Grady Memorial Hospital.

A second cashier was grazed by a bullet and was treated at the scene.

An off-duty DeKalb County Sheriff’s deputy intervened, exchanging gunfire with Tucker who was also injured in the incident.

“Two responding DeKalb County Police Department (DKPD) officers arrested Tucker as he was attempting to crawl out the front door of the supermarket,” the GBI stated.

The off-duty deputy, who served for 30 years on the force before retiring as CNN reported, was taken to Atlanta Medical Center for his wounds and is in stable condition.

This shooting occurs just days after a grocery store shooting in Florida left three dead including one child. The shooting took place in Royal Palm Beach, Fla. and the shooter was among those who died. The New York Times reported on Monday that the gunman, Timothy J. Wall, 55, did not know the victims in the shooting and had written on social media that he wanted to “kill people and children.”