The Black delivery driver who was shot at by two white men while he was just doing his job is having a tough go of it.
If you don’t recall, in January of last year, D‘Monterrio Gibson was dropping off packages in Brookhaven, Miss. He was wearing a company uniform but was not driving a vehicle with “FedEx” on it. According to authorities, Brandon and Gregory Case followed him for 15 minutes in their pickup truck before getting out of the car, firing shots at the vehicle while Gibson was inside, and chasing the vehicle until he ran out of town.
The two white men who shot at him were arrested days later when they decided to turn themselves in.
But recently, not only was a mistrial declared for the two suspects in the case, but Gibson, the Black man who was shot at, has just been fired by FedEx, the company he was working for.
Gibson shared with the Associated Press that he “feels disrespected” after he learned that he was fired through an email he received from the company.
His termination was confirmed by the manager of global network communications, Meredith Miller, who said, “Mr. Gibson is no longer employed at FedEx.”
More from the Associated Press on why Gibson was fired:
Carlos Moore, an attorney who has represented Gibson in a civil lawsuit, provided AP with a copy of an email Gibson received from FedEx on Monday. It said Gibson’s employment was terminated July 26, and the company attempted to deliver a letter and documents to him about the termination July 31.
FedEx fired Gibson because he did not accept a part-time, non-courier job that the company offered in mid-July, Moore said, adding that he did not know whether the company gave Gibson a deadline to accept.
Gibson argues that FedEx cannot force him to come back, since he’s still dealing with the long-term effects of being shot at. Although he was not hurt during the shooting, he’s been struggling with anxiety and has been going to therapy to cope with his issues, according to the AP.
Instead, he’s been on worker’s compensation leave since January 2022, making a third of what he would normally make.
But since he’s been fired, he is making 100% less than he previously was.