By Leila Merrill
LAKE WACCAMAW, N.C. — Shannon Worrell resigned as chief of the Lake Waccamaw Fire and Rescue Auxiliary and has spoken out about the incident that preceded the Columbus County Board of Commissioners’ decision to end its contract with the agency.
The agency is expected to stop responding to calls in about 90 days, WECT reported.
Worrell has been accused of making racist and homophobic remarks at a restaurant on July 24.
“I definitely am not a racist,” said Worrell, who resigned at about 4 p.m. Monday. “I have multiple friends and family of different walks of life, choices, sexual preferences ... ”
Worrell was captured on security camera footage telling a same-sex couple “I guarantee y’all didn’t make no child.”
Worrell defended his comment.
“I was trying to identify who is the mother,” he said. “Two women cannot be the mother. That is not sexism. It’s not homophobic. That’s science.”
Regarding the racist comments described by San Jose restaurant employees, he says he will take responsibility “whether it be true or not.”