Walmart employee claims he was fired after being stabbed by suspected shoplifter

A Colorado Walmart employee said he was fired for trying to stop a suspected shoplifter.

John Zaleski, a former front-end clerk for Walmart, said he questioned a shoplifting suspect outside an Arapahoe County store on Aug. 11 and then followed him.

Zaleski said he followed the woman to her vehicle and attempted to take her purse, which he suspected contained stolen items, when a man standing on the other side of the vehicle stabbed him in the forearm.

“It hurt,” Zaleski said. “It still hurts.”

Zaleski, 68, said the man tried to stab him again before the two jumped into a car, described as an early 2000s silver Toyota sedan, and fled.

Zaleski said he was told a week later he was being fired from his job.

“I think it was a company decision that I violated company policy by going out and chasing them,” he said.

“Walmart fired me, but I never expected to be treated like this after defending their store,” he said on the GoFundMe page.

But Zaleski said he did not regret his actions.

“I come from a time when we shouldn't do what these people are doing,” he said. “How long can we tolerate this?”

He added, “If given the opportunity, I'd probably do it again.”

Calls made Wednesday from Nexstar's KDVR to Walmart's corporate headquarters were unsuccessful.