Customer flashes gun at worker asking him to wear mask in Illinois store, police say

A face mask dispute at an Illinois store ended with a man in custody Wednesday, police say.

Police responded to a Menards home improvement store in Batavia just after 2 p.m. following a call about a customer with a gun, police said in a news release.

When they arrived, officials learned that a worker had approached the customer — later identified as 51-year-old Timothy Ruschke — and asked him to put on a face mask in accordance with the store’s COVID-19 policy.

That’s when police say the man lifted his shirt and showed the worker a gun tucked into the waistband of his pants.

The worker was “alarmed and disturbed,” police said.

Officials arrived at the scene and say they found the man in the store still armed. Batavia police said Ruschke has a concealed carry permit.

Ruschke was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct — a misdemeanor, police say. A court date is pending.

Batavia is roughly 40 miles west of Chicago.

This story was originally published February 18, 2021 at 11:09 AM with the headline "Customer flashes gun at worker asking him to wear mask in Illinois store, police say."