Workplace Violence—When The Unimaginable Happens

Today started like any other day. You woke up, had your morning coffee. You went through your routine to get ready for work. You made it through the traffic and now you are sitting in your office, working. Suddenly you hear a firecracker go off. Maybe it is a car backfiring outside. Then you hear another firecracker, then another and another. They sound like they are getting closer. The realization hits you. It isn’t a firecracker. It isn’t a car backfiring. It’s an active shooter. The unimaginable has happened. Your next few decisions may be the difference in you and your team members living or dying.

WHAT DO YOU DO?

The risk of workplace violence is real, although the probability of an actual incident is low. The FBI compiles statistics on active shooters. Looking at the two most recent years of 2018 and 2019 (FBI, April 2020 [latest available at press time]) the numbers reveal some interesting facts. While the number of incidents held steady from 2018 to 2019, remarkably, they show that the number of victims increased by 16% year over year. One telling statistic is that in 2018 none of the shooters wore body armor. In 2019, four of them did. It seems the shooters are getting better prepared. In a mass shooting earlier this year at an Orange, CA, office building, police believe the alleged perpetrator chained shut two gates, thus delaying their efforts to intervene in the incident (see related story, pg. 35).

One point is beyond dispute. In 2000, there were only seven fatalities in workplace violence. The trend is moving up. Each incident seems to be a bit worse than the previous one. That should make each business owner, each general manager ask the question “Are we prepared if the unimaginable happens here?” If the shooters are upping their game, are you upping yours?

Getting back to scenarios for workplace violence, most incidents are over within 10-15 minutes from the time the initial 911 call is made. What do you do? You must be mentally and physically prepared to act initially on your own. I want you to remember three simple words. RUN, HIDE, FIGHT. I want you to remember these words in that exact order. Your actions may not be in this order, but remember the words in this order, RUN, HIDE, FIGHT. Each situation is different. Your first option may be to fight because there is nowhere to run, and no time to hide. You must calmly and quickly assess the situation and make your choice. Specifically, you should:

1. Assess the situation. Do you have a secured path of evacuation? Can you stay out of the line of sight of the shooter? If you can, and can do it safely, run and run as far away as you can until you feel safe. Evacuate the building. Do not worry about your belongings. Do not try to move wounded people. Even if others will not come with you, run and evacuate. Some people are paralyzed with fear. That fear may cost them their lives if they can’t think through the situation. Have a plan to get out. What is the nearest point of evacuation? What if that pathway was blocked? What is your secondary option? These are the basic questions for evacuating in a fire, and they apply in this situation as well. The difference between a fire evacuation and an active-shooter evacuation is what is waiting for you when you leave the building. When leaving your building, be aware that police may be waiting. Run with your arms above your head to show you are no threat to them. Everyone is going to be on edge until the situation reaches a conclusion. If the police are outside, realize that their initial concern is to locate and neutralize the shooter. They will not direct the evacuation. They will not care for the wounded. Those are secondary issues until the shooter is located and stopped. Do not follow the officers; they are headed to the threat. Follow any directions and make no sudden movements. If no police are outside, the moment you feel safe, call 911.

2. If your assessment tells you it isn’t safe, then hide. Lock your doors if possible. Barricade the door. Turn off the lights. Silence anything that makes noise, a radio or your cellphone. Hide under a desk or in a closet. Hiding until it is safe to run may be the best immediate choice.

3. Fight. As a last resort and only if your life is in imminent danger, fight with anything you can lay your hands on. Fight as if your life depends on it. Once you make the decision to engage, be fully committed to act with aggression. If the nearest object is a fire extinguisher, then use that fire extinguisher. Stand to the side of the door and hit anything that comes bursting unannounced through the door. You hit and you hit hard. Use the power of numbers if multiple people are available. RUN, HIDE, FIGHT. These are not a hierarchy of choices, but options.

After each well-publicized incident, people always ask the same questions. Why? Why here? Why him? There is one common theme that seems to play out. “I just didn’t see it coming. He seemed like such a nice person.” I say “he” because 91% of all incidents, the shooter was male. “I never thought it would happen here.” The truth is it can happen and sadly it seems almost inevitable that it will happen yet again. What are we to do?

MAINTAIN SITUATIONAL AWARENESS

Be aware of what is going on around you. Why is that person wearing bulky clothes and an overcoat when it’s 90° outside? Why is he carrying a long bulky bag that might conceal a firearm or other weapon? Statistics also show that there isn’t a particular racial minority aspect to who the shooter is. Often, the shooter is white. Maintaining situational awareness of your surroundings is important. If someone seems suspicious and out of place, it is your intuition trying to tell you something.

While some workplace shootings are completely random, most are not. Typically, these incidents involve someone familiar with the workplace. Either it is a former employee or one who has had a recent disciplinary problem at work. Another commonality is domestic violence from either a spouse or a former boyfriend. In our society today, it seems like everyone is involved in their social media accounts but neglect to involve themselves with the people right in front of them. Know your people. Be a student of people. There are trigger points to any person. These trigger points are generally traumatic life events, and the person has inadequate coping skills. Common trigger points include loss of a job or job disciplinary action, death of a close family member, break up in a relationship, a terminal illness diagnosis.…Be aware of what is happening in the lives of the people you work with. That isn’t to say be nosy but be courteously aware. Step in and intervene. Most shooters feel they are at the end of their rope and no one cares. They feel that they have run out of options.

Why here? Many businesses pose an easy target of opportunity. They are wide open for anyone to walk in. Having been in the laundry business for almost 20 years, I know my way around a laundry. Virtually all are laid out similarly. I would bet that in nine of out of 10 cases, I could walk in through an open dock door right into the back of the plant and no one would even know. I would bet that if I looked like I knew what I was doing, I could walk into a laundry and ask an employee where the front office was, and they would tell me and never ask why I was there or who I was. But why did I gain easy access to the building in the first place? Many parking lots are not fenced with gates. Anyone can drive in. From the parking lot, it’s an easy walk to a generally open and unguarded door. In today’s world, with employee badging so easily available, why isn’t there a magnetic lock on all doors requiring someone with a specific badge before they can open the door. Yes, the doors need a panic bar on the inside to let people out. We are guarding against unauthorized people from coming in. Why aren’t there fences and gates on the parking lot? Why isn’t there a secured area for visitors to wait before they are brought into the main offices? Why don’t all doors have peep holes to see who is knocking on the other side before we open the door? Do we wait for it happen here before we start to get security conscious? What is the cost of a life? Statistics say it won’t be one life, but many.

OSHA AND WORKPLACE VIOLENCE

While there is currently no specific OSHA standard on workplace violence, under the General Duty Clause, Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are required to provide their employees with a place of employment that is “Free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious harm.” OSHA has developed guidance and procedures to follow under OSHA instruction CPL 02-01-158 when conducting inspections and issuing citations relating to occupational exposure to workplace violence.

If past workplace violence incidents have occurred, or you become aware of threats, intimidation or other indicators showing that the potential for violence in the workplace exists, then you are on notice of having a known hazard. Where methods of abatement exist, employers are expected to act.

Each employer should have and implement a workplace violence-prevention program combining engineering controls, administrative controls and employee training. OHSA has a fact sheet in English and Spanish on workplace violence. Click to bit.ly/oshafactsviolence. Check with your state occupational safety and health office. They may have additional guidance and resources available.

Like dealing with fires or other safety hazards, preparation and awareness are critical to surviving an incident of workplace violence. Take steps now to protect yourself and your team for that day when the unimaginable happens.

Charles Hawkins is the former director of engineering for PureStar Laundry Group. An industry veteran, he also has served as a faculty member at TRSA’s Maintenance Management Institute and is a Certified Professional Laundry Manager (CPLM). Readers may contact Hawkins at 318.547.0100 or 0520chawkins@gmail.com.

Side Bar

High-Profile Violent Incidents Up in ’21

While fewer mass murder incidents were reported in 2020—perhaps due to the distraction of the pandemic—that trend has reversed itself in recent months, with incidents reported in various cities across the U.S., including:

• April 15, Indianapolis: A gunman killed eight people, along with himself at a FedEx facility in the Hoosier State’s capital city.
• April 7, Rock Hill, SC: a former NFL football player killed six people as well as himself. His brain is undergoing testing to see if a degenerative disease related to head trauma may have contributed to his behavior.
• March 31, Orange, CA: A gunman killed four people and critically wounded a fifth victim in an office building. Police believe he chained shut two gates, thus denying them easy access to the scene of the incident.
• March 22, Boulder, CO: A gunman at a supermarket in Boulder, CO, killed 10 people, including a police officer who responded to the incident.
• March 16, Atlanta: A gunman killed eight people at three area massage parlors. Six were women of Asian descent. A local prosecutor is pursuing the death penalty along with hate-crime charges against the suspect, who is white.