MASS SHOOTINGSWorkplace Killers: People Kill Their Colleagues for Different Reasons Than Other Shooters
Workplace mass shootings (WMS) are undertaken by attackers who either work or worked for an organization where the attack occurs. They are different from mass shootings which occur at workplaces unrelated to attackers or where the perpetrators are (disgruntled) customers. Workplace attacks are quite homogeneous in motive. They are mostly attributed to revenge and often derived from attackers’ perceptions of being denied “organizational justice” and being treated unfairly. Many other mass shootings occur at commercial premises perpetrated by disgruntled customers or clients, rather than staff.
At 10.12pm on November 23, an overnight team leader at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia, opened fire on colleagues in the crew room. The 31-year-old perpetrator killed six and injured at least six more before killing himself.
The violence was directed towards fellow workers – no customers were targeted – but it is not yet known if any were targeted specifically. This was the 606th gun attack in the US in 2022 where at least four others were shot in a single incident.
Workplace mass shootings (WMS) are undertaken by attackers who either work or worked for an organization where the attack occurs. They are different from mass shootings which occur at workplaces unrelated to attackers or where the perpetrators are (disgruntled) customers. WMS have happened in pretty much all sectors in the US: uniformed services, breweries, construction, distribution, offices, software engineering, education and power plants.
Most notoriously, there were several attacks in the 1980s and 1990s on sites operated by the US Postal Service (USPS). More than 20 incidents of “workplace rage” by USPS workers occurred between 1970 and 1997 resulting in more than 60 deaths although the commonly used term “going postal” was effectively debunked when it was found USPS staff were statistically no more likely to commit WMS than staff in other sectors. The most lethal USPS incident was at Edmond, Oklahoma, in 1986, when a disgruntled USPS employee shot and killed 14 colleagues before killing himself.
US workplaces became safer in the 1990s and 2000s – workplace murder rates dropped by 50% over that period. But despite active policing measures, improved workplace security and improvements in public health and social care, workplace mass shootings are increasing.
A study of 44 workplace shootings from 1986-2011 shows such attacks often differ from other public mass shootings. They are rarely racially motivated, they are not motivated by desires for infamy and are rarely committed due to faith or ideology.
Workplace attacks are quite homogeneous in motive. They are mostly attributed to revenge and often derived from attackers’ perceptions of being denied “organizational justice” and being treated unfairly. Figures show that more than half of WMS are perpetrated by current employees with less than 25% of attackers having been in post less than a year. In almost 50% of cases, attackers left employment but returned months later to “settle scores”.
