Vermont man fired for catching purse thief has new job, gofundme site

ESSEX JUNCTION | A young Essex Junction man and volunteer firefighter fired from his Hannaford Supermarket store job for stopping a purse thief now has a new job, a gofundme site established by an admirer, the ongoing respect of friends and community, and the attention of the local, national and international press. Amir Shedyak, 20, wasn't looking for any of those things when he arrived at work at Hannaford's in the Lang Farm shopping center one day in August and was told by a fellow employee a woman's purse had just been stolen. The young shift leader sprinted after the thief, stopped him, held him down, took back the purse, and waited for police to arrive. His efforts led to the arrest of Adrian Moore, 29, of Essex on larceny charges, according to WCAX-TV. Tragically, Moore died Sept. 4 in South Burlington after crashing a stolen car, South Burlington police said. The accident scene showed evidence of opioid addiction. The gofundme account was established by Kelly Kaye after she read a Sept. 19 article about Amir in The New York Post. "Asking for us to raise some money for this young man so that he can be rewarded for his bravery and for saving an old woman from more stress and potential ruin, identity theft or worse," Kaye said. To date, the effort has raised $120. Shedyak was featured on the Boston-based "Howie Carr Show" radio program on Sept. 21 and will be a guest on the WVMT-AM radio talk show "Morning Drive with Kurt and Marcus", at 8 a.m., on Friday, Sept. 25, according to Shedyak's Facebook page. The story also has gone national and indeed international, through publication in The Sun, a United Kingdom sister Murdoch publication of The New York Post... "I got fired from Hannaford after working there for four years," Shedyak said. "I started out as a bagger and worked my way up to the post of a shift leader. Throughout the years working at Hannaford, I was trained in many departments such as the kitchen, deli, and Hannaford to Go. I was March employee of the month for coming to work on time, covering shifts when needed, and going above and beyond to help customers in any way possible. I had just arrived at work, as usual, I clocked in and went on with my day. I was flagged down by an associate and asked what was wrong, he said an elderly lady's purse had been stolen. I quickly sprung into action and ran outside. There were many people outside due to witnessing the act of crime. I asked which way the thief went and chased after him. I was able to subdue him and get the purse back to the elderly lady. She was beyond grateful! A few days later I went back to work like usual, except this time I got called into my manager's office. I was told that I would be suspended due to an ongoing investigation of the incident. A week later I received a phone call that the investigation was done and I could come into work for the results. The outcome resulted in me getting fired due to safety issues while on company time. I have no hard feelings towards my coworkers/ managers or the establishment. "I just feel that what I had done was not wrong and should not have resulted in me being fired." Reposted with permission

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Vermont man fired for catching purse thief has new job, gofundme site

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