Massachusetts man brandishes gun at Walgreens customer for not wearing mask inside pharmacy store
Massachusetts police have arrested a man on suspicion of brandishing a gun during an argument with another male individual as he was not wearing a mask inside a store. Dispatch received a call reporting a heated argument between the two men inside the Walgreens Pharmacy at 4 Central Square around 5.20 pm on Friday, July 3. “The argument continued into the parking lot where one of the men, later identified as Goulston, allegedly pulled out a gun from his vehicle and pointed it at the other man, who had not been wearing a face mask in the store,” according to a statement from Bridgewater Police Chief Christopher Delmonte. “Goulston then got in his vehicle and left the scene.”
As reported by Newsweek, the 30-year-old victim, who was allegedly not wearing a mask inside the store, however, did not sustain injuries during the incident. With the assistance of the East Bridgewater Police Department, authorities arrested 59-year-old Goulston from his home a short while later. The suspect is accused of "assault with a dangerous weapon, disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace," as per the report.
“After being placed into custody, Goulston complained of a medical issue and was transported to a local hospital,” Bridgewater police said. “His license to carry a firearm and firearms from his home were seized by police.” An executive order issued by Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker requires those over the age of two to cover their faces in public places "where social distancing is not possible." The order, effective from May 6, is meant to help combat the spread of Covid-19. "People must wear a mask in Massachusetts when inside groceries, pharmacies, or other retail stores," according to Newsweek. "Businesses are allowed to refuse entry to anyone who is not wearing a mask for non-medical reasons."
Meanwhile, two people were arrested in Arizona after they allegedly intentionally coughed on two Walmart employees after refusing to wear a mask inside the store. Frank Montoya and Victoria Parra Carranza are facing "multiple charges" after being arrested for getting into a confrontation with staff and then fighting with law enforcement after the store's management attempted to remove them from the store for refusing to comply with the rules. A number of states are seeing a second wave of surging Covid-19 cases, and Arizona is one of them.
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In Florida, Daniel Maples, an insurance agent, was sacked from his job earlier this week after he was caught on camera aggressively confronting another person who asked him to wear a mask at a Costco store. And last week, a man allegedly threatened a store clerk at a pet store with a gun after he was asked to wear a mask inside the store. The novel coronavirus has ravaged the United States, which has so far recorded more than three million confirmed cases and over 132,000 fatalities, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. On the flip side, more than 950,000 people across the country have managed to fully recover from the pathogen attack.