Store clerk fights off would be robber, promoted to night manager

FREDERICK, Md. - A store clerk in Frederick fought off an armed robber who pointed a gun in his face and demanded money.

Surveillance footage provided by the Frederick News Post shows the clerk grabbing the barrel of a shotgun and wrestling it out of the hand of the suspect who had burst into the 7-Eleven store on July 12 and pointed the weapon at Joseph Layman.

Layman told FOX 5 on Wednesday that he had little time to think about what he was going to do, so he decided to use training from his dad and brother on how to disarm someone - and that's what he did.

When Layman reached for the rifle he thought he would have been able to rip it out of the man's hands - but the suspect had a tight grip on it. Layman pulled harder and got it away.

The robber ran off once the gun was taken and when police arrived to the scene they discovered no bullets were in the gun. However, they did make an arrest in the case.

When Layman was asked if he would do it again, he said he just hopes it never does.

There was some confusion over if Layman had been disciplined or not for his response to the attempted armed robbery - the owner said he was not fired, but actually promoted to night manager.