SALT LAKE CITY — The Stockist retail shop in the 9th and 9th district of Salt Lake City closed Sunday after employees say a man threatened to shoot everyone.
The man refused to comply by the store’s mask policy and Salt Lake City’s mask mandate.
“I asked him to put a mask on and immediately he just started to be really combative about the whole thing. After a couple of minutes, I got him out of the store. Meanwhile he was still yelling at us and calling us names,” employee Josh Edgar said.
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After the man was outside the store, he threatened to come back with his gun and shoot the place up, Edgar said.
“My mind just went to Atlanta and Denver and everywhere else that there has been a mass shooting as of late,” he said.
A local SLC business closed for the remainder of the day after a man threatened to shoot up the store because they asked him to wear a mask. The full story tonight on @fox13 at 9 pic.twitter.com/cHrzze25Iy
— Sydney Glenn (@SydneyGlennTV) April 11, 2021
It was terrifying and shocking, Edgar said.
“Could this be it for me? What if this guy is 10 minutes away or what if he is going to his car and grabbing his gun?” he wondered.
The police were called, and the decision was made to close down the store for the day in order to keep everyone safe, owner Helen Wade said.
“I was appalled. I was, like, devastated and appalled, and like, terrified for my employees,” she said.
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The state-wide mask mandate expired over the weekend, but Salt Lake City extended its mandate.
While Wade said she is thankful Mayor Erin Mendenhall kept a mask mandate, she worries it won't be enough since most of the state is without one, including Salt Lake County as a whole.
“It is exhausting to make up these rules and not feel like you are getting support from your government,” she said.
Wade added that she's concerned this type of aggressive and combative behavior could continue.
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“I am definitely scared that we are going to see more of this,” she said.
For more information on COVID-19 in Utah, click here.