German police arrested a 49-year-old man on suspicion of murdering a gas station employee following a dispute over wearing a face mask.

According to the police report, the suspect claimed to act “out of anger” after the 20-year-old victim asked him to wear a face mask inside the gas station.

According to investigations, the man initially left after the dispute, but then returned an hour later, wearing a mask, and shot the worker in the head. Then, he fled the crime scene.

One day later, he turned himself in and confessed to the crime.

“The suspect said during the interrogation that he refuses to adhere to any measures related to COVID-19,” the police said in a statement on Monday.

The suspect added that, overall, the pandemic has stressed him greatly, and he saw "no other way out" of the situation than to set an example, according to reports by the DW.

"Such a crime is unprecedented. It will take time to come to terms with it," said the mayor of the town, Frank Frühauf.