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- John Shallerhan has been accused of fatally shooting police officer Martinus Mitchum.
- Police say Shallerhorn got into an altercation while trying to enter a basketball game with no mask.
- Police say Shallerhorn fatally shot Mitchum as he escorted him out of the game.
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A 35-year-old man in Louisiana has been arrested after police said he killed an officer who tried to break up an altercation over face masks at a high school basketball game.
The New Orleans Police Department told WVUE that Tulane University Police officer Martinus Mitchum was the officer who died.
The incident happened on Friday night when John Shallerhorn tried to walk into a basketball game at George Washington Carver High School while not wearing a mask to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, police told The Washington Post.
He was stopped by a school employee, who he then punched during an altercation, police said.
Police said Mitchum, who was working security at the game, tried to intervene and escort Shallerhorn away from the school, but Shallerhorn pulled out a gun and shot him in the chest.
Mitchum was taken to the University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
According to a criminal complaint seen by Nola.com, Shallerhorn has been arrested and also accused of robbing someone in the school's parking lot minutes before the shooting.
He has been charged with first-degree murder of a police officer and armed robbery, CBS 42 reported.
Carver officials called Mitchum a "fixture" at school sporting events in a statement to Nola.com.
"It is with a heavy heart … (that) we honor his memory," the statement said.