Last Friday, Joe Morici, an army veteran, was fired from his managerial position at a Maryland CVS after he tried to stop two shoplifters from leaving the store, Fox reports.
Comcast SportsNet anchor Chick Hernandez was in the store at the time of the incident and recalled Morici ran to help an elderly man with a walker exit the store, before he shut the doors in an attempt to entrap the shoplifters.
Hernandez said, “The two kids ran into the door, which was closed now, and Joe got one of them and had him. The kid he had said to his partner, ‘Shoot him.’ When you hear those terms, two guys I don’t know were like, ‘Oh crap.’ And then Joe said, ‘I’ve been in the military far too long. You don’t have anything.’”
Morici later noted he did not affirmatively know that the suspects did not have a gun, he just assumed they were bluffing.
When Hernandez returned to the store to provide a statement and compliment Morici on his heroic actions, Morici said he would most likely be fired because of what he did. Later that day his boss dismissed him from his position.
Defending the decision, a CVS spokesperson said, “In the unfortunate event of a robbery at one of our stores, the safety and well-being of our customers and employees is always our highest priority. We do not comment on specific security procedures or policies as we do not want to undermine them.”
While Morici stated that he does not believe he should have been fired, he did say that he has received lots of support since his story went viral. Strangers have approached him with job offers, and he has already submitted an application for the Prince George’s County Police Department.