GRAND RAPIDS – Attorneys for Jeremy Hoven, the Walgreens pharmacist fired after he thwarted an armed robbery with his own handgun, are releasing video of the holdup.

Hoven, 36, had a concealed-pistol permit when he fired his weapon at an armed robber inside the Benton Harbor store where he worked since 2006.

Hoven says he was fired because he violated Walgreens' “non-escalation” policy, but had never been told about the policy.

He filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids last month. His attorneys say he fired his weapon in self-defense, likely saving his own life and lives of other workers.

The robbery happened around 4:30 a.m. on May 8.

One of the masked robbers pointed a gun at Hoven as he called 911. The robber's gun jammed, and didn't fire, attorneys said. Hoven pulled his handgun from his pants pocket and fired.

“At that moment, Hoven reasonably and justifiably believed that the was going to be shot and either killed or seriously injured by the armed robber. … Hoven then fired his handgun several times in self-defense and in defense of his co-workers,” attorneys Daniel Swanson and Jesse Young wrote in the lawsuit.

The robbers left a gun behind as they ran away.

In a Grand Rapids press conference, Swanson said: “Walgreens acknowledged (Hoven's) attempt to protect himself and fellow employees by firing him.”

Hoven, who read a statement, said he was working in the rear of the store when he saw a manager being pushed toward him by an armed robber. He tried to call 911. The robber jumped over the counter. Hoven said he reached for his gun in his pocket holster.

He tried to retreat as the gunman tried to shoot him, he said.

“I feared for my life, and in self-defense, I figured my weapon as I continued to move from him.”

Swanson, one of his attorneys, said the robber shot before he saw Hoven's gun, discounting the notion that the robber shot after Hoven pulled out his gun.

He said one of the issues in court could be whether Hoven should have alerted his employer he was carrying a gun. He would not say why Hoven kept that to himself.

"Do you, as an employee, have a right to attempt to defend yourself, or submit to the situation and basically risk your life?" Swanson said.

"That's the paradox we face."

Hoven said he alerted Walgreens officials to security concerns before the robbery. The store had been robbed four years earlier.

In its response to the allegations, Walgreens denied many of Hoven's claims, including his assertion that he was fired over the company's “non-escalation” policy.

It disputed Hoven's contention that he had a “right to carry or discharge a concealed weapon on its premises at any time.”

The company said Hoven's claims for compensation are not allowed under the law.

"Walgreens had a plausible and legitimate business reason to justify its decision to

discharge (Hoven)," attorneys Charles Mishkind and Adam Forman said in the response.

E-mail John Agar: jagar@grpress.com