In a St Louis Starbucks, two employees fight when the store is hit by robbers. One week later, the store fires them for doing so; ‘I was distraught’

Two Starbucks employees in St. Louis were fired after they fought back against two armed robbers who targeted their store. The incident, which took place in December 2023 near the Saint Louis University campus, resulted in the baristas losing their jobs just weeks after the confrontation. However, a newly released video obtained by FOX 2 News shows the chaotic scene that unfolded in Missouri and brings the employees back into the spotlight. 

On that Sunday, two masked suspects reportedly entered the shop and demanded money. According to the New York Post, the store had been struggling with aggressive behavior from customers for months, with employees frequently facing threats and even having objects thrown at them. Per the report, Michael Harrison, a 20-year-old barista who was working the drive-thru that day, found himself in a terrifying position when the robbers entered. 

FOX 2 reported that upon orders, Harrison tried to open the cash register but lacked managerial credentials to do so. This led one of the suspects, Joshua Noe, to pistol-whip him in the back of the head. Harrison later recalled the intensity of the moment, stating to the outlet, “After that point, like when my vision went black, I was like ‘I’m about to get shot.’” He also noted, “It was definitely a life or death situation in my eyes.”

Another employee stepped in when he suspected the gun was fake

According to the NY Post, Devin Jones-Ransom, another employee, noticed that a portion of the weapon had broken off during the struggle. Realizing the gun might be fake, Jones-Ransom lunged at the assailant, and the video shows that Jones-Ransom pinned him against the drive-thru window. Harrison quickly joined the fight to help his coworker. 

“The trigger broke off when they hit him with it,” Harrison told FOX 2. “My coworker announced that it was a fake gun like right as he got it off of him and that’s when we jumped and started to fight them a little more.” The two employees managed to hold one suspect on the ground until police arrived, while the second suspect, Marquise Porter-Doyle, fled the scene before eventually being arrested.

The NY Post reported that both suspects were later convicted of robbery and are currently serving time in prison. Immediately after the incident, the local community and media lauded the two employees for their bravery, but as media attention died down FOX 2 noted that corporate leadership terminated their positions. 

Harrison described the moment to the outlet, saying, “But I got a call a few weeks later. Once the media died down. They told me they were terminating me. I was surprised. I was distraught. I was confused.”

Starbucks has maintained that the employees violated company policy by engaging with the robbers rather than complying with their demands. In a statement provided to FOX 2, the company explained, “In high-stress situations like this, our priority is ensuring the safety of everyone in our stores. We were deeply disturbed by this frightening incident and are grateful that our partners and customers were not more seriously injured at the time.” 

The company further emphasized in its statement that its training protocols are designed to prioritize de-escalation and compliance to prevent volatile situations from intensifying. However, the legal representation for the fired employees sees things quite differently. Per FOX 2, Attorney Ryan Krupp is currently preparing a lawsuit, arguing that the workers were simply acting in self-defense after being physically assaulted. 

“You have the right to self-preservation. You have the right to make sure that you and your family to not be physically harmed – full stop,” Krupp told FOX 2. “All it’s going to do is dissuade people potentially from protecting their own lives when they may need it the most. And that is not a world that we can live in.”

For Harrison, the NY Post noted that the loss of his job has had a significant impact on his personal life, as he was working at the store to pay for paramedic school. He expressed frustration over the company’s lack of action regarding the store’s history of violence, noting that previous complaints about aggressive customers had gone largely ignored. 

Starbucks seems to have been making a few manpower changes over the past few years. Last year, they announced layoffs for 1000 employees and changes to the menu. One employee who was fired later in the year for giving away a seasonal item later took to TikTok to share company secrets.