"Umm, I'd like a large pepperoni and a box of hollow points please."

Recently, a pizza delivery driver was confronted by a man as he was making a delivery.  (full story in DSM Register)  The man put a handgun to the delivery driver's head and demanded money, etc. 

The delivery guy simultaneously grabbed the perp's gun, withdrew his own, and shot the alleged assailant multiple times. 

The alleged assailant was arrested later after calling for medical help.  The pizza delivery guy is a legal holder of a CCW permit (concealed weapons permit).  However, it's Pizza Hut's policy that no driver can carry a weapon.  Thus, he's been suspended until the matter is investigated.

A spokesperson for Pizza Hut said the following:

"We have policy against carrying weapons," said Vonnie Walbert, vice president of human resources at Pizza Hut's corporate offices in Dallas. "We prohibit employees from carrying guns because we believe that that is the safest for everybody."

I just have a few points I'd like to make and welcome your commentary.

1. What Pizza Hut probably believes is that a policy of no weapons means less liability for incidents like this. 
2. I understand why businesses want to limit their liability and this pushes the true question of "right to carry" to the forefront of the conversation. 
3. Questions about whether or not this was a valid use of lethal force are nil if the story is accurate.  No matter how it's parsed, when someone puts a gun to your head, you can shot them dead where they stand. 
4. We cannot make excuses about the alleged assailant's "intent".  Whether or not he was going to pull the trigger or not, he had a gun to the other man's head.  He picked the wrong man to rob that day. Apparently the woman that ordered the pizza was allegedly in on the deal...and has been charged with conspiracy.  Yikes...an ambush armed robbery attempt it seems.
5. There are specific things one must do to obtain a CCW permit in Iowa (currently regulated by county sheriffs).  These include background checks and completion of a training course in which laws, situations, rules, and qualification are executed.  In other words, the current system weeds out law breaking wackos and winnows the pool of authorized carriers down to a focus group of qualified people.

I invite you to add your opinions and thoughts here.  No one is happy that anyone got shot and many out there suggest that "you better shoot them dead because if you don't, you'll be paying the rest of your life in lawsuits regardless of your innocence".  At the end of the day it appears that the constitution of the US and "the system" worked here.  But this guy will probably be fired and you KNOW that Pizza Hut will ultimately be settling out of court for millions with this felon or his family.

Argh.