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.’”