DELTA TOWNSHIP, Mich. – A Michigan man who refused to wear a mask inside a store was later shot and killed by a deputy after he stabbed another customer during an argument about the mask issue, police said.
Investigators said the argument happened around 6:45 a.m. Tuesday at the Quality Dairy store in Dimondale. The argument ended with a 77-year-old Lansing man suffering from stab wounds.
The manager of the store said Sean Ernest Ruis, 43, of Grand Ledge, stabbed the 77-year-old man simply because he asked Ruis to put on a mask.
Officials said the 77-year-old was rushed to the hospital and underwent surgery. He is going to survive, medical officials said.
Ruis was driving home after the stabbing when he was pulled over by an Eaton County Sheriff’s Office deputy on the road he lives on, according to authorities.
Video shows Ruis walking toward the deputy, who said Ruis was armed with a knife.
The deputy, who has been with the department for nearly 23 years, opened fire to protect herself, police said.
Ruis died from the gunshot wounds.
“I am sad,” Quality Dairy customer Janice Heck said. “I am horrified something so trivial should cause this anguish. It is just a mask.”
“It is crazy,” customer Nick Cena said. “It is for people’s safety, so just put it on.”