ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) – A Walmart employee in Colorado says he was fired after trying to stop a suspected shoplifter.

John Zalesky, a former front-end employee at Walmart, said he questioned and pursued a suspected shoplifter outside an Arapahoe County store on Aug. 11.

Zalesky said he followed the woman to a car and tried to grab her purse, which he believed contained the suspected stolen goods, when he was stabbed in the forearm by a man standing on the other side of the car.

“It hurt,” Zalesky said. “I mean, it still hurts.”

Zalesky, 68, said the man tried to stab him again before the two jumped into the car – a silver Toyota sedan from the early 2000s – and drove away.

A week later, Zalesky said, he was notified of his dismissal.

“I guess it was a company decision that I violated company policy by following them outside,” he said.

On his GoFundMe page, he wrote: “Walmart fired me and I never thought they would treat me like this after protecting their store.”

However, Zalesky said he does not regret his actions.

“I was born in a time when you just don’t do what these people do,” he said. “When is enough enough?”

He added: “If I had the chance, I would probably do it again.”

Calls from Nexstar’s KDVR to Walmart’s corporate headquarters were unsuccessful on Wednesday.