Only in America: Inconvenient courage
A convenience store clerk is canned for foiling an armed robbery — and more in our collection of strange revelations about the nation

Unemployed for two years, Eric Henderson of Pensacola, Fla., finally got a job at the local Circle K. Things were going well, he says, until two women and a man tried to rob the convenience store at gunpoint. As the thieves yelled "Shoot him, shoot him!" Henderson says he grabbed the gun-wielder around the neck, slammed her to the ground, and disarmed her. Unfortunately, saving his life (and Circle K's cash) cost Henderson his job: The heroics violated company policy against provoking, chasing, or engaging with robbers.
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