Man Kills Officer After Argument Over Face Mask At New Orleans School

In a horrific incident, a Tulane University police officer was killed by a man who refused to wear a face mask, in keeping with COVID-19 measures, at a school in Louisiana.

John Shallerhorn walked into the gym at George Washington Carver High School in New Orleans during a basketball game Friday, but a staffer blocked him for not wearing a mask.

When Shallerhorn got into an altercation and punched the staffer, officer Martinus Mitchum intervened to help. Police said that’s when Shallerhorn pulled a gun and fatally shot Mitchum in the chest, according to The Washington Post.

Mitchum, who was working security during the game, later died at a hospital.

The school was put on lockdown and the game was canceled.

Shallerhorn had also robbed a man at gunpoint in the school’s parking lot prior to the argument and shooting in the gym, The Associated Press reported. He was arrested and charged with felonies, including first-degree murder of a policeman and armed robbery.

Tulane University Police mourned Mitchum's death. “We are deeply saddened by the senseless and tragic death of TUPD Corporal Martinus Mitchum. Corporal Mitchum was a dedicated police professional who had a heart of service for the Tulane community,” Tulane Police Chief Kirk Bouyelas said in a statement.

“We have reached out to his family and are providing support to his fellow officers during this difficult time. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and with all the fellow officers with whom he served.”

This is not the first time that an argument over following COVID-19 protocols has escalated and turned violent in the U.S. Last year, a security guard of a Family Dollar store in Michigan was killed after an altercation over wearing face masks.

The incident happened when Calvin Munerlyn told Sharmel Lashe Teague that customers were required to wear face masks in the store. She initially yelled at him and drove off, but her husband and son came 20 minutes later to confront Munerlyn, Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said.

Leyton reportedly added that the son, Ramonyea Travon Bishop, pulled out a gun and shot Munerlyn.

In August, a Pennsylvania man opened fire on a cigar store employee after refusing to wear a mask. When the employees told Adam Zaborowski that they would serve him curbside instead, the man left the store without paying.

Zaborowski was accused by the police of pulling out a semiautomatic handgun and firing once in the air and twice at an employee who confronted him outside.