CNN 2011-02-17

Topping our look Cross Country this morning, from the mouths of babes.

Luck be a lady tonight. I fell into a ring of fire.

Far more mature than his five years of age might suggest, you're witnessing Cameron Barilone's first gig as a professional singer. He actually packed the house on Sunday at the Calhoun Restaurant in Saugus, Massachusetts. Call it the family business. Dad's an entertainer, too.

Keeping it in the family, in Oklahoma City, eight-year-old Demarray Love helped his mother deliver his baby brother over the weekend. He jumped into action. His mom's contractions¹ came before the doctor, and mom, baby, and big brother, well, they're all said to be doing fine now.

And in Denver, this disturbing sight near a local duck pond. This Canada goose is suffering from an arrow shot through his torso. Volunteers tried to catch and treat the bird, but still didn't have any luck.

Alright. Well, you know that old saying, no good deed goes unpunished. It rings so true near Salt Lake City at a Wal-Mart. Four loss prevention workers do their jobs. They prevent the loss of a computer, then survive a potentially deadly encounter with the shoplifter that they saw swipe it. And guess what Wal-Mart rewards them with? Pink slips. Yes, fired all four for breaking some rules.

You know what? When you're trapped in a room with a desperate felon² who has a gun and a rap sheet a mile long, don't you think all bets are off? Are you really going to just stand there and think about your Wal-Mart handbook and policy AP 09? Watch this story from Andrew Adams of KSL TV and we'll talk.

Absolutely time stopped. I didn't know what to do. ANDREW ADAMS, KSL TV Gabe Stewart froze. A gun pressed into his back, he was pushed up against a wall. And Justin Richins and Shawn Ray were backed against a closed door.

He looked right at me and said, "The gun is cocked. Come on, guys, just let me go. I don't want to do this. I don't want to hurt anybody."

"Don't make me do this."

"Don't make me do this."

It was January 13th inside this Wal-Mart on Hillfield Road. A police report obtained by KSL shows Trent Allen Longton was seen stashing³ a Netbook computer inside his clothes in the electronics department here.

Then, he headed toward the front of the store. These workers approached, escorted him to the loss prevention office. That's where Longton took out the laptop and then, a loaded handgun. Bullet in the chamber⁴, he rushed the workers, pushing the gun into Stewart.

I reached up and grabbed his wrist and his shoulder and spun⁵ him around.

I was thinking, whose house am I going to tonight to tell their family that their loved one was shot?

As their protection supervisor⁶, Lori Poulsen says they went hands on. She ripped the gun away. They restrained him until the police arrived.

And you have to make a decision. Do I fight for my life, or do I stand here and watch?

Game over. Happy ending, right? Fast forward one week.

They called and set up the appointment for me to come in and be terminated from the company.

Said "You're fired. You're being terminated for violation⁷ of AP 09."

AP 09 is Wal-Mart's policy on dealing⁸ with shoplifters. It shows employees are allowed to use reasonable force to limit movements of struggling suspects, but if a gun comes out, associates must disengage and withdraw. In this case, withdraw where? These workers say they had nowhere to go and no other real option.

The police had told us we did everything right.

Layton Police say Longton, a convicted felon with a loaded gun, multiple outstanding warrants, and a long criminal history, likely would have faced a stiff police response outside.

Then likely they are going to, produce their handguns and try and take the person into custody⁹ because you've got to be ready for it.

While Layton PD would not comment on the appropriateness of these workers' action, the officer in the police report says it was in his and citizens' best interest and safety to take the suspect to the ground. Longton was initially¹⁰ charged with five crimes. This week, he pleaded guilty to two counts, robbery and possession of a gun by a restricted person.

After taking his statements, along with the information that they learned from the store employees, the officers felt that probable cause existed for the charges that I outlined.

Wal-Mart responded to KSL's calls and e-mails with a written statement. "We appreciate the intentions demonstrated by our associates in this situation, but the actions taken put their safety and potentially the safety of our customers and other associates in jeopardy¹¹." The statement also points out that workers knew the rules before they acted. No consolation¹² to Stewart and the others.

I honestly felt worse than when I had the gun to my back. I honestly felt betrayed.

1 contractions   

n.收缩( contraction的名词复数 )；缩减；缩略词；（分娩时）子宫收缩

参考例句：

• Contractions are much more common in speech than in writing. 缩略词在口语里比在书写中常见得多。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Muscle contractions are powered by the chemical adenosine triphosphate(ATP ). 肌肉收缩是由化学物质三磷酸腺苷(ATP)提供动力的。 来自辞典例句

2 felon   

n.重罪犯；adj.残忍的

参考例句：

• He's a convicted felon.他是个已定罪的重犯。
• Hitler's early "successes" were only the startling depredations of a resolute felon.希特勒的早期“胜利 ”，只不过是一个死心塌地的恶棍出人意料地抢掠得手而已。

3 stashing   

v.贮藏( stash的现在分词 )；隐藏；藏匿；藏起

参考例句：

4 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

5 spun   

v.纺，杜撰，急转身

参考例句：

• His grandmother spun him a yarn at the fire.他奶奶在火炉边给他讲故事。
• Her skilful fingers spun the wool out to a fine thread.她那灵巧的手指把羊毛纺成了细毛线。

6 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。

7 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

8 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

9 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

10 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

11 jeopardy   

n.危险；危难

参考例句：

• His foolish behaviour may put his whole future in jeopardy.他愚蠢的行为可能毁了他一生的前程。
• It is precisely at this juncture that the boss finds himself in double jeopardy.恰恰在这个关键时刻，上司发现自己处于进退两难的境地。

12 consolation   

n.安慰，慰问

参考例句：

• The children were a great consolation to me at that time.那时孩子们成了我的莫大安慰。
• This news was of little consolation to us.这个消息对我们来说没有什么安慰。