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Customer asked to put on mask threatens Seattle smoke shop employees

SEATTLE — Seattle police officers say they were called to a smoke shop after a conflict over a mask escalated into threats and racial slurs.

Officers were called to the shop in the 1500 block of Broadway at 6 p.m. Tuesday for a report of a person threatening employees and causing a disturbance.

The woman had in a white Toyota Camry before officers arrived.

Shop employees told police that the suspect was not wearing a mask when she came into the business.

When the employees asked her to put one on, the suspect became angry and started yelling and swearing. She then demanded to be sold a pipe, but workers told her that she would have to show identification to ensure she was not a minor.

Employees said the request caused the woman to get even angrier, and she began waving her arms at them as if she was going to try to hit them. She was also holding a pair of scissors.

Workers told officers she began using racial slurs and threatened she would come back with friends to rob the store and burn it to the ground.

Officers in the area said they spotted the suspect’s Toyota many blocks away from the smoke shop and tried to stop it. The woman acted as if she was going to pull over for officers but then suddenly sped off.

Police did not chase the driver.

A Seattle Police Department Bias Crimes detective was notified and the sergeant spoke with the victims.