Heather Curtis
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON — (WMAL) An employee at a 7-Eleven in Frederick, Maryland was fired for pulling a gun out of the hand of a would-be robber. The firing caused such an uproar that the franchise owner of the 7-11 on Sundays Lane wound up rehiring the clerk a day later according to the Frederick News Post.
On June 11, Joseph Layman was working behind the counter at the convenience store, when 18-year-old Ryan Jordan walked into the store, demanded money and pointed a gun at Layman. Instead of handing over the cash, Layman grabbed the barrel of the gun and pulled it out of Wages’ hand. Wage ran off without any money.
Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins told WMAL News he doesn’t recommend people do what Layman did but didn’t blame him for it either.
“I believe that this is just an example of the public, they’ve had it, and this just demonstrates to me how this clerk said, ‘You know what, enough’s enough. I’m not gonna stand here and be a victim and take it. I’m gonna fight back,'” Jenkins said.
But 7-11 has a corporate policy instructing employees not to resist robberies, so Layman was fired.
“I think the policy is a good policy. It’s a sound policy, and I understand the need for that policy because, listen, as an employer you don’t want your employees hurt or killed, but I think they’re absolutely wrong in firing him,” Jenkins said.
There was such an uproar over the firing that franchise owner Abdul Ayub told the post he rehired Layman, promoted him to manager and gave him a raise.
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