The National Rifle Association (NRA) criticized Academy Sports in Tallahassee, Florida, after store manager Dean Crouch was terminated for apprehending a thief who ran away with a gun and ammunition, according to WCTV.
Marion Hammer, who previously served as the NRA’s first female president, believes Crouch is “a hero.”
“He stopped an initial crime that would have led to other crimes, and he gets fired. How on earth is that right?” Hammer said, calling his firing “insanity.”
Crouch says his employee at the sporting goods store shouted, “Stop that man!” as the thief, Jason White, ran toward the front door with a .40-caliber Glock pistol and a stolen backpack carrying five boxes of ammunition, The Washington Times reports.
After tackling and detaining White until police arrived during the June 29 incident, Crouch says he was fired during a conference call after Academy Sports suspended him for a week.
Arrest paperwork from the Leon County Clerk states White requested to view the Glock from behind a glass counter before taking off with it.
A spokeswoman for Academy Sports, Elise Hasbrook, claims that Crouch took “actions inconsistent with our corporate policies,” MSN reports. “We have policies in place to protect our team members and customers during a robbery.”
White told police he needed the gun because someone threatened his family and children. “I stole and I admit to it,” he said but promised officers, “I will steal again when I get out of jail.”