A police deputy and two others were shot Monday at a DeKalb County supermarket after a man refused to wear a mask in the store.
The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office told Newsweek that a man entered the Big Bear Supermarket at South DeKalb Mall on Candler Road in Decatur. He was asked to put on a mask by a woman inside of the store, and he began arguing with her. The man pulled out a gun and started firing at the woman, according to authorities.
A DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office Reserve Unit Deputy who works part-time as a security guard for the store intervened when the shots rang out. The deputy returned fire at the man, the police said.
All three of the people involved were shot. The sheriff’s office did not have any details on the conditions or extent of the injuries when Newsweek reached out to them. The sheriff’s office confirmed all three of them were being treated at the hospital. The woman was shot in the head according to officials, WSB-TV reported.
“A DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office Reserve Unit Deputy and two others–a man and woman–are all en route at this hour to local hospitals following an incident at the Big Bear Supermarket at South DeKalb Mall on Candler Road in which all were injured during a shooting,” a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office said.
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The DeKalb County Police assisted the sheriff’s department on the scene. Newsweek reached out to the local police, but they directed all questions to the sheriff’s office.
The deputy recently moved over to the sheriff’s office as a reserve officer. He is retired from the DeKalb County Police Department, CBS46 reported.
A witness near the mall posted a video to Twitter showing a heavy police presence at the Big Bear.
The Big Bear store has a posted sign on the door stating its mask policy, according to 11 Alive. Customers must wear masks in the store in order to shop.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was called to the supermarket to help the sheriff’s office investigate the officer-involved shooting.
“At the request of the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office, GBI agents are responding to an OIS on Candler Road. We’re headed to the scene to gather info,” GBI said on Twitter.
The GBI is also investigating another officer-involved shooting that happened on Sunday in Cobb County.
Newsweek will update the story as information comes out about the identities of the suspect and victims.
