'Shorty, pull ya mask up! People are dying': Baltimore mayor, 36, goes viral after offering sage advice to heckler while giving a COVID-19 update

The mayor of Baltimore admonished a heckler for not properly wearing a face mask.

Mayor Brandon Scott, 36, was conducting a press conference on Tuesday morning to update the community about COVID-19.

During his comments, however, Scott was interrupted by 'Shorty,' a local community activist.

Video of the incident shows Scott responding to Shorty, saying 'Shorty, pull ya mask up man,' before repeating 'pull ya mask up.' 

Mayor Brandon Scott was giving a press conference in Baltimore when he was interrupted

Scott, who has imposed a ban on dining in the city for the past month, didn't hold back

'We are heading into the fourth week of these mandates and I recognize that Friday will...hold on one second,' Scott continues.

'Shorty, come on man, look,' Scott says to Shorty. 'People are dyin', Shorty! People need to hear this information cause they dyin'. No, not you! People dyin', Shorty.'

Scott then goes on to continue his remarks.

The Baltimore Sun has identified 'Shorty' as Duane Davis, who is known for interupting local politicians.

He's also known for feeding the community's homeless with his barbecue grill and raising awareness about corruption, which is what he was yelling about during Scott's press conference.

Pictured: Duane 'Shorty' Davis, the activist who was interrupting Scott's conference

Scott took advantage of the viral moment and began slapping the slogan on promotional  materials

'This was simply about me telling someone — literally —telling someone that I care about, calling them by their name and telling him to pull up his mask,' Scott said to The Baltimore Sun on Wednesday. 

'In going viral, you now have millions of people that have been shared important information that the world needs to hear, right?,' Scott added. 'Because we know people are not wearing their mask the right way. They have it on their neck, they’re hanging it down and hanging it below their nose.'

There have since been video remixes of the phrase 'Pull Ya Mask Up,' including one by DJ Supa DJ Big L, and the slogan is being sold on hoodies and face masks.

The coronavirus has infected over 21.2 million people in the United States so far

Even Scott is capitalizing on it, using it in a poster for the Baltimore City Health Department.

'As long as the message gets out, that’s all that I care about,' Scott said.

 

For the past month, Baltimore has been dealing with a ban on indoor and outdoor dining to slow the spread of the coronavirus. 

As of Tuesday, Baltimore has had 32,710 cases of COVID-19, with 725 dying of the virus after adding a new death to the total.

In the United States, more than 21.2 million have been diagnosed with COVID-19, with the death toll standing at more than 359,000 as the vaccine rollout continues across the country.