A teenager may have seen his short life flash before his eyes at a North Carolina gas station after he rejected a request to remove a Confederate flag from his vehicle.

Hickory police were dispatched to a Kangaroo Express gas station after receiving a call at 1:30 a.m. Sunday morning that a man was pointing a handgun at someone.

An 18-year-old truck driver told police he was at the station when a man approached him and “asked him to take down the Confederate flag in the back of his truck,” the Hickory Record reports.

“The black man was mad about the Confederate flag,” according to Hickory Police Department spokeswoman Chrystal Dieter.

The truck driver rejected the man’s request and an argument ensued.

The man then allegedly pulled out a handgun and “pointed it at the victim.” He fled when someone called the police.

They launched a search and found him near walking near Catawba Valley Community College. He was hiding in the bushes and police “found a handgun on the ground,” according to the paper. The man reportedly denied any involvement.

There currently are no charges filed against the man.

“We’re investigating this as a possible assault by pointing a gun,” Hickory Police Capt. Thurman Whisnant tells WBTV.

“We just hope everyone would take into account the feelings of others and use good judgment, but there’s no justification for someone to pull a firearm,” he adds, according to WSOC.