A 35-year-old man in Pennsylvania opened fire Friday on a Bethlehem cigar store employee after refusing to wear a mask inside the store, police said.
The next day, police said, he shot at officers with an AK-47 during a traffic stop near his home.
The man, Adam Zaborowski of Slatington, entered Cigars International in Bethlehem Township, about 70 miles north of Philadelphia, at 11:23 a.m. Friday, police said. He was not wearing a face covering as the store requires and the governor has mandated, according to Bethlehem police.
Employees advised Zaborowski that customers must wear a mask to protect against the spread of the coronavirus, police said.
The staff told Zaborowski that if he was not comfortable wearing a face covering, they would serve him curbside, police said. Zaborowski became irate, grabbed two cigars from a shelf and exited the store without paying, according to police.
Police said Zaborowski pulled out a semiautomatic handgun and fired his gun once in the air and twice at an employee who confronted him outside. A patron was sitting outside the store in the direction he fired, police said.
No one was injured, and Zaborowski fled.
He was identified by investigators and charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault, robbery and reckless endangerment.
“Due to prior offenses, he was also charged with persons prohibited to possess a firearm,” police said.
At 9:35 a.m. Saturday, a Slatington police officer and two Pennsylvania state troopers stopped Zaborowski while he was driving, authorities said. After he stopped he jumped out of the vehicle and started shooting at police with an AK-47, striking a Slatington police car, State Trooper Nathan Branosky said.
“Both the Slatington Borough officer and troopers returned fire and struck Zaborowski,” Branosky said.
Zaborowski was flown to a hospital for treatment. The Slatington police officer suffered a minor injury, state police said. No troopers were hurt.
Zaborowski’s attorney, John Waldron, said his client is in a hospital recovering from gunshot wounds to his leg and buttocks.
Zaborowski faces 22 charges related to the Slatington incident, including attempted homicide, aggravated assault and robbery, Waldron said Monday.
He is being held on $1 million bail. Zaborowski had lost his job because of the pandemic and recently lost custody of his child, according to Waldron.
“Not a defense or excuse, but he had stressors going on in his life,” Waldron said. “A lot of people have stress and some handle it better than others.”
