A Salt Lake City store closed early on Sunday after a man threatened to shoot the place up when he was asked to wear a face mask.
“I asked him to put a mask on, and immediately he just started to be really combative about the whole thing,” Josh Edgar, an employee at The Stockist at 875 E. 900 South, told FOX 13.
Once the man was outside, he threatened to return with a gun and shoot everyone in the store, Edgar said. The store’s owner decided to close the store for the day to protect workers and customers.
On Monday afternoon, Salt Lake City police arrested a man they say made the threats, Lt. Steve Woolridge said.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox decried threats made by anti-maskers against businesses that require them to wear face masks on their premises, promising they “will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
On Sunday, Utah Transit Authority police arrested a man who allegedly threatened to shoot a UTA employee on a FrontRunner trainer after she asked him to put on a face mask.
Although the state mask mandate ended on Saturday, Salt Lake City has extended its mandate. Private businesses and other organizations are allowed to require customers to wear masks, and many have.
In a meeting on Monday, the Weber County Commission unanimously voted not to extend its mask mandate, FOX 13 reports.
“We encourage businesses’ and governments’ continued mask use if they feel it’s appropriate,” Commissioner Gage Froerer said during the meeting, according to FOX 13.
“Utah has a strong tradition of respecting private property rights,” Cox said in a statement. “Businesses and public services have the right under the law to continue requiring masks in their establishments if they choose. We support such efforts and thank all Utahns who respect each other’s rights and mask requirements wherever they are in effect.”
Read more at FOX 13.
Editor’s note: The Salt Lake Tribune and FOX 13 are partners in a content-sharing agreement.
