The Dallas Morning News - The robbery passed in a blur -- rough voices, barked orders, workers forced to the floor, a bag of money changing hands.
Then one of the robbers ordered the supervisor at the Richardson Long John Silver's to the back of the restaurant.
"He's going to kill me," the man recalled thinking. So he grabbed a hammer, turned and swung.
The robber fell, then fled, his accomplice with him. The bag of money lay on the floor.
A few days after the Sept. 18 robbery attempt, the supervisor got another shock: Officials at Long John Silver's fired him.
He'd risked his co-workers' lives and violated company policy, he said they told him.
This firing is especially dumb considering this revelation later in the article.
The supervisor, 46, said his fears overwhelmed him, and for good reason.
"They had my three employees on the floor," said the Dallas father of six who had worked for Long John Silver's for 10 years. "I gave them the money, but the dude who's supposed to have the gun, he orders me into the back.
"The only thing I could think is he was going to kill all of us," the fired worker said.
He'd been robbed on the street 25 years ago. He had handed over his money and offered his watch, but the robber shot him anyway.
"I had a flashback, and I was panicking. I knew I had to do something. I had seen a hammer in the back, and I grabbed it."
A few days later, he was called in by his boss and fired.
What stupid thing to do. This action by Long John Silvers tells robbers that they aren't going to fight back. They may as well say: "Come on in and clear out our cash register. We won't do a thing to stop you."