Last May, a pharmacist at a Michigan Walgreens was dismissed from his job at the drugstore chain after he fired his own handgun at an armed robber. Now the man is suing Walgreens and his lawyers have released footage of the incident to defend their client.

Around 4:30 a.m. on the night of the incident, armed robbers entered the Benton Harbor, MI, store and began demanding cash. According to the pharmacist, one robber jumped over the pharmacy counter and attempted to fire a gun at him but it didn’t work. That’s when the Walgreens staffer decided he needed to use his own weapon, stowed in his pocket holster.

“At that moment, [the pharmacist] reasonably and justifiably believed that the was going to be shot and either killed or seriously injured by the armed robber,” says his lawyers. “[He] then fired his handgun several times in self-defense and in defense of his co-workers.”

The pharmacist says he had alerted his superiors at Walgreens about possible security concerns at the store, which had been robbed four years ealier.

Walgreens dismissed the man for violating its “no escalation” policy and disagrees with the plaintiff’s contention that he had a “right to carry or discharge a concealed weapon on its premises at any time.”

“Walgreens had a plausible and legitimate business reason to justify its decision to discharge [the pharmacist],” attorneys for Walgreens have stated.

Here is the video footage of the incident. Judge for yourself if he went over the line.

Video of Walgreens pharmacist shooting at robbers released [Mlive.com]

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