Circle K Clerk Cleared by Police, Fired for Stopping Robbery
A Circle K clerk in Stow, Ohio opened fire on armed robbery suspects who rammed their minivan through the store's front doors, and police say he broke no laws. Circle K apparently disagreed, and he says the company fired him over it.
Snapshot
On November 2, 2026, suspects in two stolen minivans rammed the Circle K entrance before several of them rushed inside. Clerk Kendrick Watson, a six-year employee, fired seven rounds, telling WKYC he believed his life and his coworker's life were in danger. Stow police declined to charge him, but Watson says he lost his job over the company's zero-tolerance gun policy.
Key points
- The attack: A minivan smashed through the store's glass entrance multiple times before suspects got out and approached, according to WKYC.
- Watson's response: He says he fired "to protect myself and my coworker," hitting a suspect vehicle, a fuel pump, and a canopy support pole in the process.
- No charges: Stow police determined the shooting was lawful self-defense, per the report.
- The firing: Despite avoiding criminal liability, Watson says Circle K terminated him for violating its no-guns workplace policy.
- Brazen detail: Body camera footage showed one arrested suspect was wearing a court-monitored ankle bracelet at the time of the robbery.
Quick take
Ammoland's David Codrea argues this case fits a pattern of corporate "give them what they want" policies that assume robbers only want money, not lives, a bet he says clerks in several cited killings lost. He frames it as a risk-management trade-off where companies avoid liability for stray shots while treating employee safety as secondary. Whether or not you buy that framing, the facts here are plain: an employee defended himself, wasn't charged, and still lost his job.
Read the full story: ammoland.com