Pharmacist Jeremy Hoven sues Walgreens over wrongful termination after self-defense shooting

In case you don't remember, Pharmacist Jeremy Hoven was working at a Walgreens in Michigan where he fired back at a robber after the robber tried firing his gun at Hoven. Hoven had gotten himself a permitted concealed handgun after he had experienced a robbery at another Walgreens store. It looks to me that Walgreens has gotten itself in trouble with some easily disproven statements. From the New American:

When Jeremy Hoven put his concealed carry permit to use for self-defense purposes during an armed robbery last May, he was fired by his employer, Walgreens. Though Hoven defended the use of his weapon by asserting he feared for his life, and while no one was injured during the encounter, Walgreens issued a pink slip, prompting Hoven to file a wrongful termination lawsuit.

At a Walgreens in Benton Township, Michigan, two armed robbers wearing masks burst in at 4:30 am with weapons drawn. Pharmacist Jeremy Hoven was working behind his counter when he saw the attackers grab the Walgreens store manager as a hostage. The men also jumped behind Hoven’s counter, with their weapons drawn. While one of the masked men held a gun to the head of one of the Walgreens’ employees, the other attempted to shoot Hoven three times, but his gun would not fire.

Hoven attempted to call the police, but came to realize his best defense was to return fire, and drew his own weapon, for which he possesses a concealed carry permit. He fired at the attackers, scaring them off. Hoven not only saved his own life that day, but the lives of two of his co-workers. A mere 42 seconds passed, from start to finish.

Hoven explains, “I feared for my life, and in self defense, I fired my weapon as I continued to move from him.”

“The adrenaline was taking over. You could have probably taken my pulse from my breath, because my heart was beating that much,” he adds.

Walgreens lawyers have denied most of Hoven’s claims, and even asserted that there was not an armed robbery in progress at the time Hoven fired his weapon. They claim that the company, which operates 8,000 stores in the United States, had a “plausible and legitimate business reason to justify the firing.”

However, video footage of the incident corroborates all of Hoven’s statements, and will certainly play a prominent role in the lawsuit against Walgreens. . . .

You can see the video here.



Thanks to James Drake for the link to the New American article.