“This week’s horrific, on-air, deadly shooting of a Virginia TV reporter and her cameraman is another reminder that workplace violence doesn’t have to occur at the work site,” says Richard H. Price, Soteria Group Principal and Senior Analyst, CPTED CPD with Soteria Group, Safety by Design. “Businesses need to recognize that minimizing workplace violence takes more than just installing security cameras. You need to install a workplace culture of safety that can put a troubled individual like this on the radar of senior staff or, if need be, the police.”
“This guy fits almost all the checkboxes of a workplace killer,” says Price, who served 21 years as an FBI Special Agent. “He described himself as ‘a human powder keg…just waiting to go BOOM!!!!'”
In the 23-page document faxed to ABC News, the shooter painted the portrait of a person who felt persecuted in the workplace, as well as by events in the outside world. According to ABC News:
- He says has suffered racial discrimination, sexual harassment and bullying at work.
- He says he has been attacked by black men and white females.
- He talks about how he was attacked for being a gay, black man.
According to Gawker, “after suing a Tallahassee station for discrimination in 2000 and losing his job at WDBJ in 2013, he reportedly sent applications to CNN and ‘other news organizations.’ It does not appear that his entreaties resulted in any job offers.”
Media reports indicate that anger issues at the station led to his firing two years ago. His most recent trigger seems to be the church shooting in South Carolina.
“This is a person who was raging in both his Twitter and Facebook feeds for a long time,” says Paul Feist, Principal and Senior Analyst with the Soteria Group, who has 25 years’ experience in law enforcement. “The fact that he used his smartphone to record the shootings and then post them online points to his desperate need for social celebrity. It is a sign of the social media industry’s corporate responsibility that both Twitter and Facebook suspended his accounts as soon as they learned what he had posted on them.”
According to USA Today, “in an average week in U.S. workplaces, one employee is killed and at least 25 are seriously injured in violent assaults by current or former co-workers.”
What steps can workplaces take to minimize violent attacks? First a thorough screening needs to be done before hiring. The types of questions an employer can legally ask vary from state to state. Check with your HR attorney to see what screening questions are permitted.
Who is the typical person engaging in workplace violence? Based on 45 years of law enforcement experience by Soteria Group Principals, the most common characteristics of a person engaging in workplace violence are as follows:
- A male.
- Feels humiliated
- Failed workplace romance
- Blames others for failures
- Occupational rejection – feeling that others perceive incompetence
- Feelings of having been bullied
- Disciplinary action taken (i.e. reprimand, demotion, termination)
- Emotionally and mentally unstable
- Threats made against the organization or individual
Most often the perpetrator goes into a downward spiral at work where events escalate in intensity and frequency. Employers should document everything so that the firing will hold up if the former worker files a grievance. Senior staff, legal counsel, and security personnel should meet before any firing takes place.
According to the experts at Soteria Group other workplace violence prevention steps include:
- Follow the recommendation “See Something… Say Something”. Create a system for employees to anonymously report suspicious behavior.
- Provide training to educate employees regarding workplace violence.
- Create an Employee Assistance Program, providing employees with access to professionals that can assist them in dealing with anger issues, depression, etc.
- Create a workplace safety plan, to prepare employees in the event a violent incident does occur
For more information on prevention and mitigation of workplace violence, contact the Soteria Group for detailed and customized advice and/or training.