?This spring alone, mass shootings at an outlet mall in Allen, Texas; a medical building in Atlanta, a bank in Louisville, Ky.; and a Christian school in Nashville, Tenn., have grabbed national headlines.
As gun violence repeatedly roils the workplace, “employers are very much encouraging employees to speak out” if they see or hear something concerning, said Denise Giraudo, a partner in the labor and employment practice group at law firm Sheppard Mullin.
Many of her clients are making their workplace violence hotlines “more robust,” Giraudo said, and with increased training for human resources, compliance officers and other professionals, they can “recognize very quickly it’s not your run-of-the-mill complaint.”
It’s crucial for employees to speak up, said Gregory M. Vecchi, a retired FBI agent who now serves as director of training at SafeDefend, which offers crisis management solutions. “Employees know each other best. We all know what’s normal for a person.”
According to the Violence Project, there have been 190 mass shootings in public in the United States since 1966. The nonprofit defines a mass shooting as one in which four or more victims are killed in public attacks.
Between 1966 and 2021, 30 percent of the mass shootings occurred in the workplace, such as an office building or warehouse, and most of the perpetrators had been fired from their jobs, according to the Violence Project.
About 17 percent of mass shootings occurred at retail locations, while 13 percent took place in restaurants and bars. In those cases, most of the shooters were strangers to the staff.
The nonprofit Gun Violence Archive, which characterizes a mass shooting as one in which four or more people are injured or killed, has recorded more than 270 mass shootings this year. Last year there were 647 mass shootings. The number of mass shootings jumped steeply starting in 2020, to top 600, about 200 more than the previous year.
Workplace shootings can be committed by anyone in the workplace, including customers or employees. Employers can prepare for both situations, with special attention paid to warning signs from employees.
Workplace Warning Signs
Lisa Pescara-Kovach, a professor of educational psychology at the University of Toledo and director of the Center for Education in Mass Violence and Suicide, also works as a threat assessment trainer for businesses, schools and universities.
If an organization receives a report of concerning behavior by an employee, she recommends talking to the individual and other people who are close to the employee to try to determine how serious the potential threat is, and then develop a case management plan.
“Keep the person employed if possible, and change what is the problem” in the person’s workplace or life, such as by directing them to counseling, Pescara-Kovach said.
In many workplace shootings, the perpetrator is a former employee who had been terminated and bullied by their supervisor, she added. But HR wants to work to ensure a terminated employee “doesn’t come back with a weapon.”
While an organization may think terminating an employee who is exhibiting concerning behavior will solve the problem, the individual may blame the workplace for at least part of their issue, Pescara-Kovach said.
“I think people would be surprised at how many plots have been thwarted by a threat assessment,” she noted.
If concerns arise and an investigation is underway, an organization might ask the employee to work from home for a couple of days, or station a security guard at the front door or a police car in the parking lot, Giraudo said.
But in some cases, she recommended to HR, “Don’t take chances. It’s better to be facing a wrongful termination lawsuit than a wrongful death lawsuit.”
While sometimes an individual may snap and commit an act of violence without warning, Pescara-Kovach said, it’s more common for a person to plan an attack in advance, and often share their plan with others, such as through an online post.
Often the individual is experiencing suicidal thoughts and potentially wants to take out the people who they blame for their troubles, such as a bullying supervisor, she said.
“They’re people in crisis, not some kind of monster,” Vecchi said. Instead, most have a grievance and “decide violence is the answer.”
If someone is in crisis, Vecchi noted, their behavior typically changes.
HR professionals can look for such changes as:
- Veiled threats.
- Decline in performance.
- Showing up late for shifts.
- Poor hygiene.
Threats from Customers
Gauging and responding to threats can be tougher in an environment such as a store or restaurant, where the potential attacker may be a customer who the employees typically don’t know.
If someone enters the business and employees “don’t feel safe, ask [the individual] to leave, and lock the door,” Giraudo said. “Safety is more important than a sale.”
If an employee has safety concerns and wants to lock down the business, employers “should empower employees to feel OK to do so,” Giraudo said.
Some stores have safe rooms, or they may have an emergency button, which employees can push to notify authorities, she said.
Workplace violence policies should be established and discussed at employee orientation, and regularly after that, such as on an annual basis, Pescara-Kovach recommended.
Organizations should also train employees how to respond if an attack occurs.
If an attack happens, employees should first try to safely escape, Vecchi said. If they can’t flee, they should try to evade the shooter by hiding, locking doors, placing heavy objects in front of doors, and turning off lights and cell phones.
If the attacker breaks through, employees should be prepared to engage with the shooter, but “don’t fight fair,” Vecchi advised. Use office furniture, pepper spray, broken coffee mugs, or anything that might be available.
In many cases, “this could be prevented,” Vecchi said. “It takes time to get to the point where someone attacks.”
Susan Ladika is a freelance writer based in Florida.