Rod was a manager at House Depot. He worked about 50 hours a week. He loved his job, although the extra hours cut into the time he could spend with his three little girls. One morning he was supposed to go home at 7 a.m. Instead, he stayed on to help out for three more hours. He was just about to leave at 10 a.m. when he heard something.

At one of the checkout counters, he saw a man dressed in white painter's coveralls pointing a gun at the female checker. He had on a yellow cap, a white plastic painter's mask, and white gloves.

Rod hurried over. Times in Los Angeles had changed. All managers now received training on how to respond to armed robberies and hostage-taking. Rod was nervous, but he knew what he was supposed to do. He approached the gunman.

"Sir, please don't point that gun. We will give you all the money you-"

The gunman didn't even wait for Rod to finish his sentence. He shot Rod in the stomach. The checker screamed. The gunman ran out to a white van and hopped in. The van sped off.

Rod didn't even make it to surgery. The killing made all the TV news shows. House Depot offered a $100,000 reward.