Brave Circle-K Worker Fired for Defending Himself, Co-Worker as Video Shows 4 Would-Be Robbers Ramming Store with SUV
Kendrick Watson, a six-year employee at a Circle K in Stow, Ohio, was working the overnight shift on Nov. 2 when four men in stolen minivans rammed the storefront repeatedly around 3:30 a.m.
The impact shattered the glass entrance and knocked an ATM loose. Masked suspects then exited the vehicles and moved toward the store.
Watson, lawfully armed, fired seven shots, causing the men to evade the scene.
Kendrick Watson won’t face criminal charges after opening fire on a group of robbery suspects at a Stow gas station, but he says the incident cost him his job. https://t.co/wJ090wv3TJ
— 11Alive News (@11AliveNews) November 7, 2026
@11AliveNews That’s messed up!
— Tiff (@Tiffany34006057) November 7, 2026
Police later arrested one suspect, Peirion D. Jackson, 25, of Cleveland, who was on parole for a prior robbery and linked to a gang, according to a report from WKYC.
Jackson now faces charges including robbery. Stow police and the city law department confirmed Watson’s actions were lawful and that he will not be charged with a crime.
“”Once they rushed the store, I thought my life and my co-worker’s life at the time was in danger, so I opened fire to protect myself and my co-worker.””
Retail clerks are instructed not to engage, but this event is unusual.
.@CircleKStores fix it.https://t.co/qnJi6xYUv3
— BreatheTheSea (@BreatheSeaWind) November 11, 2026
After the incident, Circle K took Watson off the schedule under its no-weapons policy, according to the Akron Beacon Journal. He described the company’s response as disappointing after years of reliable work, including long stretches of consecutive shifts.
The company has not publicly explained its decision in detail beyond the policy.
Ohio Circle K worker Kendrick Watson fired after shooting at masked robbers who rammed minivan into gas station https://t.co/G1ZDDIwYW3 https://t.co/ifegzis4Up
— New York Post (@nypost) November 11, 2026
😠 He put SEVEN shots toward masked robbers who rammed a stolen minivan through the front of a Circle K at 3:30 in the morning.
Stow police say Kendrick Watson will not be charged. He had been there SIX YEARS.
Circle K’s reward? They took him off the schedule.
Protect the store, lose the paycheck. This country is upside down. 🙃
— ShadowPatriot (@ShadowPatriotUS) November 11, 2026
@ShadowPatriotUS @nypost He did the right thing. Circle K do better!!
— Spin Cycle 519 (@Spin519) November 11, 2026
Watson acted to protect himself and a coworker when a group that had already used a vehicle as a battering ram advanced on the store.
The alternative was to wait and see whether the men intended only property damage or something worse. Police treated the use of force as justified, while the employer treated the possession of the firearm that stopped the attack as disqualifying.
Overnight clerks at convenience stores are frequent targets precisely because they are isolated and the payoff can be quick.
When a company signals that employees who stop a violent attack will lose their jobs, it reduces the chance that the next clerk will be armed or willing to resist. Criminals notice patterns, so a store known for punishing self-defense becomes a softer target than one where resistance is possible.
Circle K has not increased the security of its employees by removing Watson. It has advertised that resistance carries a personal cost while the risk of attack remains.
Watson did not create the danger. He interrupted it. By rewarding those who caused the risk and penalizing the person who stopped it, Circle K turns a supposedly neutral application of the rules on its head.
Instead, it creates an incentive structure that makes the next overnight shift far riskier for whoever is left behind the counter.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
