Walgreens Pharmacist Fired for Shooting His Own Gun During Robbery

Everyone in Michigan thinks Walgreens pharmacist Jeremy Hoven is a hero for using his own gun to scare off two armed men during a late night robbery at the store. Well, everyone that is except for his employer, who has subsequently fired Hoven from his pharmacy job for violating the company's non-escalation policy. I can't even begin to imagine what the Walgreens' bosses could be thinking with such an idiotic decision. It's not every day that someone loses their job for saving his own life and the lives of his co-workers.

As if the story of an employee shooting a gun purely out of self-defense wasn't infuriating enough, here are some more details to rile you up: Hoven says the reason he even had the gun (and a concealed weapons permit) in the first place is because after the store was robbed back in 2006, Walgreens failed to improve security, and he felt unsafe.

In addition to inadequate security, there's this ridiculous business of Walgreens' "non-escalation" policy. If you watch the frightening video below, you can see exactly what occurred during the robbery. Two masked men enter the store and hold up an employee at gunpoint. That's when Hoven draws his own gun and fires several downward shots in their direction. He justified his decision to shoot this way: "I was reacting out of fear, and the adrenaline was taking over ... You could have probably taken my pulse from my breath because my heart was beating that much." I'd say that's a pretty convincing justification.

As you can see, the thieves are clearly shaken by the shots and run out of the store. No one was harmed; the robbery attempt failed. Far from "escalating" the situation, Hoven stopped it.

If you ask me, Walgreens should be giving this man a raise -- not the sack. Still, the company is maintaining that Hoven had no right to carry or discharge a weapon in their store at any time. Hopefully, Hoven will get what should be coming to him -- a promotion and/or reward! -- when his lawsuit is decided.