Company Fires Employee For Fending Off Armed Robber With Gun

The Blaze has the story:

But although the store’s manager was grateful for his employee’s bravery, McClean was fired two days later — right before Thanksgiving. 

“It’s pretty much getting slapped in the face doing something that you feel was right everybody else around you feels you were right,” says McClean. 

Other than to reiterate the company’s zero tolerance policy on weapons inside stores, AutoZone representatives refuse to comment on McClean’s firing. 

And being laid off couldn’t have come at a worse time for McClean: He’s about to be a father. 

“We’re having a little boy,” he said. “I remember when the guy came in with that gun. My initial thought was I want to make it home to my family. I want to have the opportunity to meet my son and for my son to meet his dad. And for someone to come in and shove a gun in your face?” 

The former AutoZone employee explains that his decision to go back into the store and rescue his co-workers was informed by lessons he learned in the U.S. Air Force. 

“Never leave a man behind,” he said. “I’m not going to leave my brother in a room with a guy with a gun — that’s threatening his life.” 

“If I can save somebody’s life, I put that way above a store policy,” he adds.