Kay Jewelers fires store manager after deputy turned away over service gun

IREDELL COUNTY, N.C. — Kay Jewelers said the jewelry store manager who turned away an Iredell County deputy over his service weapon is "no longer employed" with the company.

The company released an updated statement about the incident on Thursday on Twitter.

The Iredell County sheriff said one of his deputies was ready to propose to the love of his life, but the store manager wouldn't let him pick up his engagement ring.

Deputies said in a social media post on Wednesday that the deputy was met at the door by the store manager who told him he couldn't wear his service weapon on the premises.

The sheriff said his deputy bought an engagement ring, had it sized and went to pick it up from the Kay Jewelers Tuesday in Statesville while on his lunch break.

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“The deputy informed the manager he was in uniform and his marked patrol car was in the parking lot, and it would be a violation of policy for him to remove his service weapon while in uniform,” the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office said in the post.

The sheriff said the deputy left without the ring and called the encounter "difficult for us to comprehend."

Hours later, Kay Jewelers sent Channel 9 this statement:

“Kay Jewelers is reaching out to the customer and the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office to sincerely apologize for the mishandling of this matter. We have tremendous respect for law enforcement, and we thank the Office for bringing this to our attention. We will be sure to reinforce store training regarding our firearm policy with specific regard to uniformed law enforcement.”

Cox Media Group