Police in Seattle arrested a man they say returned to a Japanese market near Seattle with a hatchet after being asked to wear a facemask in the store.
KIRO reports the man became upset after being asked to comply with the store’s policy of wearing a face covering. He is also accused of “threatening to return and shoot everyone” as well as shoplifting and assaulting a worker.
“The next day he did come back with a machete and he was in our parking lot waving a machete at people and making threatening statements,” Denise Moriguchi, the CEO of Uwajimaya said to Hopclear.
The suspect is believed to have come from a nearby hotel where homeless are being housed in an effort to contain the spread of coronavirus.
“It’s traumatic, and it’s already on top of the stress of the coronavirus,” she said.
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