A shoplifter allegedly accepted a pistol from an employee at Metairie, La., sporting goods store and ran off with it on Dec. 16. After running after them, three employees were fired, per reports.
WGNO said the employee who handed the shoplifter the gun believed they were facilitating a sale.
Michelle Sutton was working as team lead at the store, Academy Sports + Outdoors, when she heard about the theft on her radio, according to WGNO. She said that she ran after the suspect as soon as she heard.
“I just took off,” Sutton said, adding that she wanted to help the police. Two other store associates joined her. They ran all the way to the sidewalk in front of the store but they were not able to locate him.
While Sutton said she was trying to help, she apparently violated the Texas-based company’s policy by leaving the store. Four days after the incident, she and the other two employees were terminated from their jobs by compliance personnel, WGNO reported.
“Because we did run out the building, even though I and the other associate did stay on the sidewalk, it fell under [that] we left the front porch, as they call it,” Sutton said.
WGNO said that Academy’s policy states employees are not allowed to chase or physically restrain a fleeing suspect. It also said loss prevention associates or managers “are allowed to detain a suspect who’s exited the store by approaching the person at a ‘non-threatening distance’ and asking them to step back into the store.”
Sutton said there is no clarification in the policy regarding finding out the suspect’s location to aid police. She also said her store director instructed them to get the make and model of the vehicle if the suspect fled in one, but Sutton said the suspect did not.
“Every store that sells firearms, especially pistols that are concealable, need to have clear policy,” Sutton said of the experience. “They need to have extra training. They need to prepare for the unexpected.
WGNO reached out to Academy for a statement but did not receive a response as of this week. The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office also did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Audacy did not find any specific mention of policies related to firearm sales in an Academy Spots + Outdoor ethics and code of conduct policy available online.
Following the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting in 2018, the company provided the following statement to WYFF 4 regarding shifting their gun sale policies.
“We serve a broad base of customers, and outdoor sports, including hunting and shooting sports, are an important tradition and recreational activity for many of our customers and their families. We are strongly committed to ensuring the legal, safe and responsible transfer of firearms. We follow all applicable regulations relating to the sale of firearms and regularly review our internal policies and processes to ensure our legal and responsible sale of firearms and encourage safe usage and ownership. As a Federal Firearms Licensee, we support the Fix NICS Bill to strengthen the background check system and require greater compliance with the law,” said the company.