AutoZone fires brave employee who stopped armed robbery with a gun
The
company has fired Devin McClean, an Air Force veteran, 23, after he retrieved a
gun from his truck to confront a gunman that attempted to rob the York
County, Va. store for the second time this month.
“It was a
surprise to me,” McClean told
Fox News. “I did the right thing. I saved the company $2,000. I saved one of
their manager’s lives — and you’re letting me go? It was a slap in the face.”
AutoZone
representatives have said McClean violated corporate policy by re-entering the
store with a weapon, though they have refused requests to comment specifically
on his case.
“If I can
save someone’s life, I put that way above store policy,” McClean said. He
added, “I feel like they don’t care — they don’t care about their employees
because if they did, then I wouldn’t have been fired over this.”
One of the
responding officers, Sheriff J.D. Diggs, believes McClean did a “very brave
thing” and opposes the company’s decision to terminate the 23-year-old.
“They
should be doing something to reward that young man instead of firing him. The
company has now sent a message to every would-be robber out there — ‘Hey we’re
open for business and unarmed. Come on in and take our money.’”
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