Man charged after maskless grocery shoppers threatened with bat
Police have charged a 56-year-old Port Elgin man after customers were threatened with a baseball bat for not wearing masks at a grocery store in the Bruce County town, police said.
Saugeen Shores police were called Thursday evening about a man who was threatening people and causing damage at the grocery story, police say. The call came in shortly after 8 p.m.
“A male and female were confronted by another customer over not wearing masks. The dispute escalated leading to the male customer threatening to cause bodily harm to the other male,” police said in a statement. “A bystander witnessed the interaction and attempted to intervene, resulting in the male threatening this customer.
“The altercation continued in the parking lot, where the male brandished a baseball bat in a dangerous manner towards the male and female. The male then struck the taillight of the victim’s vehicle, causing damage.”
Police later made an arrest.
The accused is charged with mischief under $5,000, three counts of uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm, and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose. He was given a court date and released.
It’s been nearly two years since masks were made mandatory in all public indoor settings across Ontario, a measure in place to slow the spread of COVID-19. New rules, including limited retail capacity, are in effect for at least two more weeks as the number of cases of the highly contagious Omicron variant skyrockets.