Out of Dekalb County, Georgia this week, a tense story with a happy ending may turn out to finish on a sour note after all. A woman working delivering pizzas for Papa John’s went out on a delivery run and instead of being met by a hungry customer with cash, found herself facing an armed robber. After forcing her from her vehicle and ordering her onto the ground, the suspect, Donquaz Devon Stevenson, was going to leave with her car and her money. At that point he learned that he probably should have checked things out a bit more thoroughly when the driver produced her own personal firearm and shot him in the face.

A suspect, Donquaz Devon Stevenson, was found nearby with a gunshot wound to his face, police told Channel 2. Stevenson, 24, of a Decatur address, was arrested and charged with armed robbery, DeKalb jail records showed. A second suspect, who was not identified, left the scene in the delivery driver’s silver 2000 Honda Accord, according to police. He remained on the loose Monday.

Mr. Stevenson somehow survived the encounter. (Bonus points awarded for a successful head shot from a prone position in the dark, though a center of body mass target would have been higher percentage.) The unhappy part of this story is that the driver may lose her job over this. For all the details on that part of the story you need to click the link above and watch the news station video. (Not embedded here because it’s autoplay.) It may sound unbelievable that an employee could be fired for defending her life, but apparently it happens. Bob Owens has the background on that.

Unfortunately, the woman who survived this armed ambush with her life is more than likely going to lose her job unless Papa John’s has recently changed a long-running policy that forbids employees from being armed for their own self-defense. Though being a food delivery driver is one of the ten most dangerous jobs in the United States, companies like Papa John’s have done the cold, hard analysis and have determined that is is cheaper to deal with drivers injured or killed in robberies than it is to deal with the possibility of litigation if one of their employees shoots someone and the company’s policies allowed them to be armed.

Some additional national attention would be in order regarding this insane policy, as Bob goes on to note. But since most of these outlets are independently run franchises, the specific one in this story can probably be convinced that it’s a bad move to fire a woman for saving her own life. Something like that could be bad for business. (Not that most New Yorkers would need a lot of incentive to not order pizza from Papa Johns in the first place, but it may be very popular in Georgia for all I know.)

We can remain thankful that the driver is still alive and uninjured. Let’s just hope that the cops manage to get her car back and that her employer can see the light and not do something foolish like terminating her employment.

UPDATE: (Jazz) Thanks to our astute readers, the news was quick in coming. Papa John’s may or may not have been aware of the media attention this was attracting, but they came out today and said that the driver will remain employed, but probably not have to drive anymore.

Papa John’s Pizza is standing by a pizza delivery woman who opened fire Sunday on an armed robber in an act of self defense. The pizza franchise told FoxNews.com Thursday the employee, who hasn’t been named, will not be fired from the company… While Papa John’s prohibits employees — including delivery drivers — from carrying firearms on the job, the pizza giant said Thursday the woman would not be let go from the company. She instead will be reassigned to another role, according to the company. “The safety of Papa John’s employees is a top priority for our company, ” the company said in an email to FoxNews.com. “Company policy prohibits employees from utilizing firearms in the performance of their duties.We plan no changes to our current policy, which is designed to protect customers and employees,” the statement read. “Upon investigation and considering the specific facts of the situation, we have reassigned the employee to work in the store and are offering her counseling to help her recuperate from the incident.”

It would be better if they gave that policy a second pass, but at least this is better than her being fired.