Store Clerk 'Suspended' From Job After Using Gun to Halt Robbery

Store Clerk 'Suspended' From Job After Using Gun to Halt Robbery

A 58-year-old store clerk and Vietnam War veteran was “suspended” from his job at Mac’s Convenience Store in Rutland, Vermont, after using a gun on June 15 to stop a knife-wielding man from robbing the business.

According to the Rutland Herald, clerk Don Pitaniello was getting ready “to close up” the business at about 9:30 p.m. “when a man wearing a hoodie and a bandana over his face entered the store and threatened him with a roughly 5-inch blade.”

Pitaniello said he has carried a gun “all his life,” so he was ready when the robber entered. He said the man in the hoodie showed the knife, asked him to “empty the register,” then began waving the knife in his face. Pitaniello responded by drawing his .380 handgun and “pointing it at the [robber’s] face.” He told robber to “get the (expletive) out of” the store and the robber complied.

Pitaniello has since been suspended and says he may lose his job but “[he] doesn’t care.” He said: “I’m a firm believer in having a gun and not needing it rather than the other way around. I can always find a new job.” 

Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins  Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.

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