BERLIN — Police in Germany say a 49-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the killing of a gas station worker who was shot dead Saturday following a dispute over face masks.

Authorities in the western town of Trier said late Monday that the suspect told officers he acted “out of anger” after the 20-year-old clerk at the gas station asked him to put on a mask.

“He further stated during interrogation that he rejected the measures against the coronavirus,” police said in a statement.

A requirement to wear masks is among the measures in place in Germany to stop the spread of the virus.

According to police, the suspect initially left the gas station after the dispute in the town of Idar-Oberstein, but then returned wearing a mask and shot the clerk dead, before fleeing.

The suspect, a German citizen, wasn’t identified by name in line with privacy laws.