Michigan GunFree Walgreens Pharmacy Held up by 2-Armed Gunman, Pharmacist Shoots Back, then gets Fired

By Elizabeth Nelson

This next story, and lawsuit, could determine how a store decides to structures it's customer's safety and their liability.   The store in question happens to be a Michigan Walgreens, just another reason I'm happy my husband is no longer a pharmacist for this chain. Their entire chain is gun-free, not just for the pharmacists but for the clerks and shelf stockers too. 

Walgreens hasn't publicly announced that that they'd prefer their customers to "leave their guns at home," yet, but coming from someone whose husband used to work there and left, I'm sure that day will come all too soon. However, they would be stupid, especially seeing this story could have gone south and fast.

In Benton Township, Michigan, two armed robbers wearing masks burst into a near-deserted Walgreens at 4:30 a.m. To pharmacist Jeremy Hoven, it was a prescription for trouble. So he filled it with hot lead.A video, newly released by Hoven's attorneys, shows how events unfolded.

Watch the Video below:

Drawing his own gun, Hoven fired at the attackers and drove them off, saving not just himself but two Walgreens co-workers as well as the pharmacy's valuable prescription drugs.  By way of saying thanks, Walgreens fired him.

Hoven, in an interview with the Benton Township Herald-Palladium, said he had acted out of fear. "The adrenaline was taking over," he said. "You could have probably taken my pulse from my breath, because my heart was beating that much." Only 42 seconds elapsed, start to finish. All the action was captured on surveillance video.

Before firing, Hoven first tried dialing 911. But before he could complete the call, the first of the two robbers had vaulted over a counter and was standing five feet away from him. That's when the pharmacist went for his own gun and opened fire.

The video appears to confirm that Hoven's actions were defensive, and were made only in response to the robbers' attack.  Peter Kosick of St. Joseph, Hoven's attorney, tells ABC News that, in his opinion, Walgreens should have commended his client for bravery. That, too, is the opinion of township police Lt. Delman Lange, who, after reviewing the surveillance video, told the local paper, "If it was me, I would have done the same thing."

Though Hoven was licensed by the state of Michigan to carry a gun, Walgreen discourages its pharmacists from packing pistols. A spokeswoman for the drug chain told ABC News in an email that while Walgreens would not be able to disclose its policies, they were written to protect the safety of customers and employees. "Store employees receive comprehensive training on our robbery procedures and how to react and respond," she wrote. Walgreens' approach is "endorsed by law enforcement, which strongly advises against confrontation of crime suspects. Compromise is safer."  Continue reading ABC NEWS

So, will Walgreens now be hiring full-time armed security, because this isn't the first time the pharmacy has been robbed, or even a store for that matter. They have a "non-escalation" policy. Basically, in a nut-shell, it's the "liberal way," don't piss the robber off, give them whatever they want and they'll leave you alone to "live-and-let-live." 

However that's not always the case, sometimes you get shot, just for grins-and-giggles.  Why don't we ask 20-year-old Shelby Farah about her armed robbery experience, she works at the Jacksonville Metro PCS - oh wait, we can't because she was robbed at gun point in July and after she willingly cooperated, she was shot three times, "execution style" by 21-year-old James Xavier "Killer" Rhodes, because evil is as evil does, and witnesses can't testify.  

All gun-free zones do is give criminals more rights and puts the law-abiding owner in more danger while putting more responsibility and liability for our safety on the establishment that we are visiting. 

Because trust me, the first time I get shot or hurt by an armed robber at a gun-free establishment, I will be suing them for the very reason that I was "respectfully denied my right" to protect myself and everyone around me and I will own the liberal establishment that was stupid enough to go "gun free."