The manager of a Kay Jewelers store in Statesville, who refused to allow an on-duty Iredell County Sheriff's Office deputy to enter the shop to pick up his engagement ring because he was armed is no longer with the company, the company announced Thursday afternoon.The Sheriff's Office took to social media Wednesday after the store, located at 187 Turnersburg Highway, refused to allow the deputy to enter their business during his lunch break to pick up his engagement ring because he was armed.The Sheriff's Office said it was "deeply saddened" by the situation that unfolded.In a Facebook post, the Sheriff's Office, led by Sheriff Darren Campbell, said the uniformed deputy was notified that the engagement ring he had purchased for his upcoming wedding proposal had been sized and was ready for him to pick up at the store."The deputy took his meal break to pick up the ring and was met at the door by the store manager, who informed him he was not allowed to wear his service weapon while on their premises," the post reads.Authorities said 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 Sheriff's Office said the policy is in place for not only the safety of the deputy but the general public, as well. The post further reported, "The manager stated our deputy would need to return to the store at a different time when he was not armed."The Sheriff's Office said the deputy left the store without the ring he had purchased."The reaction our deputy encountered is very difficult for us to comprehend, and we earnestly hope situations such as these are few and are diminishing," the Sheriff's Office wrote in the post. A company spokesperson for Kay Jewelers, David Bouffard, responded to the Sheriff's Office's post Wednesday, stating that the company is "reaching out to the customer and the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office to sincerely apologize for the mishandling of this matter."The company further stated, "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."On Thursday, the jewelry store apologized again on social media about the incident and noted that the store manager is no longer with Kay Jewelers."Our policy is that any member of law enforcement is always welcomed in our store at any time, as a customer or in an official capacity," the post read. It further stated, "We are reinforcing store training regarding all of our Customer First policies, as well as specific policies related to law enforcement, in all of our stores."