AURORA, Colo. — Police arrested a 27-year-old man this week on suspicion of shooting a Waffle House cook one day after employees declined to serve him because he refused to wear a mask, according to multiple reports.
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Authorities on Monday arrested Kelvin Watson of Denver on a charge of attempted first-degree murder, KDVR reported.
The waitress told police that Watson was a regular customer. She said his behavior seemed odd and that she thought he might have been high during the encounter, KCNC-TV reported.
In an arrest affidavit obtained by the news station, police said Watson walked into a Waffle House in Aurora early May 14. A waitress told him he would need to wear a face mask before employees would serve him, KDVR reported. She told police he left and returned with a mask, though he still refused to wear it.
She said Watson pulled out a small semi-automatic handgun and put it on the counter, saying that he could “blow (the cook’s) brains out,” according to KCNC-TV. Police were called, but KMGH-TV reported that the cook decided against pressing charges.
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The next night, Watson returned, again not wearing a mask, authorities said. He was asked to leave because the restaurant had reached capacity, but Watson refused, slapping the cook and cutting his lip, according to KCNC-TV.
The cook told police he ran outside the restaurant afterward and that Watson followed. He said Watson shot him in the abdomen and that he ran toward his nearby home while calling 911, KMGH-TV reported.
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The cook was taken to a hospital with serious injuries. Officials with Waffle House told KMGH-TV that his injury was not life-threatening and that he was released Friday from the hospital.
Records from the Arapahoe County Detention Center show authorities booked Watson into jail Tuesday. He has since been released on bond.
In a statement released to KDVR, Waffle House employees called the incident a “terrible crime" and a “senseless act of violence.”
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“We are very thankful that neither of our associates who were working when the incident occurred, suffered any life-threatening injuries,” Njeri Boss, Waffle House’s director of public relations, told KDVR in a statement. "Our thoughts and well wishes remain with our associate who was injured and now is recovering at home.”
Officials in Aurora have encouraged businesses to require customers wear face masks, but the measure is not required in the state.