Barber Allegedly Pulls Gun After Telling Customer, "I Don't Cut Black Hair"

This week, police in South Carolina arrested a 65-year-old barber for allegedly brandishing a pistol after refusing to cut a man’s hair because he was black, the Associated Press reports.

37-year-old Arthur Hill, who recently moved to the state from New York, says he entered Larry Thomas’ barbershop looking for a simple shave on Tuesday when the barber told him, “I don’t cut black hair.” Hill says he then asked Thomas what he meant and the barber pulled out a gun. From WFMY News:

“I said, ‘Are you referring to African American hair?’ He said, ‘Yeah,’ and at the time I noticed he already had his hand gripped on a .38 snub nose chrome revolver.”

Hill says he told Thomas he didn’t want any trouble and left, but he contacted the York County Sheriff’s Office.

“I was shocked, I was shocked for my life, because I’m thinking that could’ve been me laying on the floor dead,” he said. “He did not point it at me, but it was clear in sight like he meant business.”

According to police, Thomas denied grabbing the weapon and claimed he kept his guns locked up in a shed behind the shop. In the shed, officers say they recovered the handgun described by Hill.

Thomas later told WFMY News he refuses to cut black hair because he doesn’t know how. Asked why he kept a gun in his shop, Thomas told the news network, “I felt threatened.”

Thomas now faces a charge of pointing and presenting firearms at a person. According to Hill’s wife, the confrontation was their first “racial incident” since moving to South Carolina in December.