Security guard shot dead in US after ‘refusing entry to customer not wearing mask’

A security guard has been shot dead in the US after asking a customer to wear a mask before entering a dollar store.

A security guard was killed on Friday for asking a store customer to wear a mask while inside the business, police said.

Calvin Munerlyn, 43, died at a hospital after he was shot in the head at discount store chain Family Dollar in Flint, Michigan.

Three family members have been charged in connection with Munerlyn's death, Genessee County Prosecutor David Leyton said in a news release on Monday.

Sharmel Teague, 45, her husband, Larry Teague, 44, and Sharmel's son, Ramonyea Bishop, 23, face a slew of charges, including premeditated murder, carrying a concealed weapon, and defying Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer's executive order that all customers must wear masks while shopping.

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Larry Teague, 44, has been charged over Munerlyn's death after he returned to the store with his wife, Sharmel Teague, after she was told to leave.

Ramonyea Bishop 23, has been charged with first-degree premeditated murder in the security guard's death.

The prosecutor’s office said, citing police reports, that Munerlyn told Sharmel that she needed to wear a facial covering while inside Family Dollar.

The two got into a “verbal altercation” and Munerlyn told her to leave the store as Sharmel allegedly screamed and spat at him.

Munerlyn instructed a cashier not to serve the woman.

Sharmel left, but returned with two men, according to officials.

The men confronted Munerlyn and Bishop then allegedly shot the security guard in the back of the head.

Just after 2pm on Friday, police found Munerlyn unconscious with a bullet wound to the head.

He was transported to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Authorities said both Larry Teague and Bishop remain at large, but said Sharmel Teague is in police custody and awaiting arraignment.

“The death of Calvin Munerlyn is senseless and tragic and those responsible will be held accountable to the fullest extent under the law,” Leyton said in a statement.

Calvin Munerlyn, 43, was killed on Friday after asking a Family Dollar customer to put on a mask while shopping inside the store.

Munerlyn’s cousin, Tina James, said: “This is not the way to do things right now we need to come together.”

“He will be sadly missed. He will truly be sadly missed our parents grew up together and our kids grew up together.”

“This was just senseless over a mask! Over a mask, I don't understand it,” the security guard’s cousin told WJRT-TV.

Munerlyn had worked at the Family Dollar for just over a year and had worked in security for three decades, his wife, Latryna Sims-Munerlyn, said.

Deomnte Munerlyn, the firstborn son of Calvin, holds his aunt Sharion Munerlyn after news of the security guard’s death. Picture: Jake May/The Flint Journal-MLive.com via AP

He leaves behind six children, and according to his wife, was a great man.

“That man was a legend out here, from troubled teenagers that he helped to taking care of his babies, his wife, his home,” she said. “That man was just loveable.”

The 43-year-old’s mother, Bernadett Munerlyn, called her son “a beautiful person and he loved his family and his mamma so much and his wife.”

“All of us together, one big family, we just did everything together and he loved taking his kids out, having fun, basketball, bike rides, exercising, jogging,” she said.

“He just was a beautiful father and it’s devastating that he’s gone.”

On Sunday night, around 150 people showed up at a candlelit vigil to mourn Munerlyn's death.

Maalik Mitchell, 20 of Flint, grieving the death of his father Calvin Munerlyn, during a vigil in Flint, Michigan. Picture: Jake May/The Flint Journal-MLive.com via AP

It comes as tensions rise in the state of Michigan, following Members of the Michigan Liberty Militia protesting the state’s stay-at-home orders this week, some with weapons and tactical gear and their faces partially covered.

They went inside the Capitol, where being armed is allowed, then demanded access to the House floor, which is prohibited.

Some went to the Senate gallery, where a senator said armed men shouted at her. Michigan’s Republican-controlled Legislature has questioned Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s authority to extend stay-at-home orders amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Protesters rally at the State Capitol in Lansing, Michigan this week. Gun-carrying protesters have been a common sight at some demonstrations calling for coronavirus-related restrictions to be lifted. Picture: AP/Paul Sancya

But the governor used an executive order to extend a state of emergency declaration and has directed most businesses statewide to remain closed.

Mentioned as a possible running mate for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, Mr Whitmer said on Sunday, “This isn’t something we just negotiate ourselves out of and it’s a political matter.” “This is a public health crisis,” she said.

– With AP

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission