Employee Killed by 12-Year-Old with Gun

Keene, TX (WorkersCompensation.com) – A fast-food employee is dead after a 12-year-old boy shot him for arguing with an older man.

The Keene Police Department said the young man was armed with an AR-style weapon.

According to police Matthew Davis, 32, was working at a Sonic in Keene, about 40 miles southwest of Dallas. Davis, police said, confronted a man identified as Angel Gomez, 20, for being “disorderly” in the restaurant’s parking lot. When a fight broke out the boy shot Davis from the back seat of Gomez’s vehicle, police said in a statement.

The shooter is thought to be a 12-year-old boy, Police Chief James Kidd told USA Today, who fired at least six shots from the AR-style .22 rifle. The shots struck Davis multiple times. He was transported to a hospital and then taken to by medical helicopter to another facility where he later died.

Police said the shooter and Gomez fled the area with the gun. However, police said Gomez later returned to the scene and was arrested. Police later located the boy and took him into custody, confiscating several firearms from him.

Both Gomez and the boy were charged with murder.

Davis’ murder was one of several times employees were shot over the past week.

In Pleasanton, Calif., a Home Depot employee was shot and killed after confronting a shoplifting suspect.

On May 16, Blake Mohs, 26, tried to stop Benicia Knapps, 32, from leaving the store. Police said the two got into a physical confrontation, and when Mohs tried to detain Knapps, she shot him. Knapps then escaped in a getaway car driven by David Guillory, 31, and the two fled the scene with Knapps’ 2-year-old child in the car.

Authorities later recovered the handgun near the store and arrested the two that afternoon. Knapps was charged with murder, robbery, child endangerment and conspiracy. Guillory was charged with child endangerment, evading the police and driving the wrong way, jail records indicate.

In Milwaukee, two Department of Public Works employees were chased and shot at in a paintball attack. At least one of the employees was shot twice in the back with the paintballs.

According to police, the employees were in the area of 42nd and Townsend streets planting trees. As they were working, two young males exited a car and chased the workers with paintball guns, and started shooting them. A DPW spokesperson said the shooters returned to their 2000s Chevy Impala and drove off.

Officials said the car did not have any license plates. The employee was not seriously injured.

On May 19, officials said a man at a General Motors engine factory shot a co-worker after an argument over a woman.

Police in Moraine, Ohio, said a worker at the plant and Jeffrey James Allen III, 28, of Dayton, got into a fight about a woman who worked at the plant. The shooter then fired more than 12 rounds from a handgun, killing Allen, and wounding another worker at the DMAX plant on Thursday. While the woman the men fought over works at the plant, she was not injured in the shooting, Parish said.

“We’ve been able to confirm that both the suspect and Mr. Allen were apparently involved in a domestic related feud over a female who was also an employee of the facility,” Parish said during a news conference. “During the altercation between the two males last night, the suspect produced a semi-automatic handgun and shot and killed Mr. Allen. It’s apparent that everyone involved was working yesterday evening and at some point this altercation… ensued and the shooting resulted

After allegedly killing Allen, the shooter then turned the gun on himself, shooting himself in the head. Police found the suspect alert and conscious outside of the factory. He was taken to a nearby hospital, treated for his wounds and was listed in critical but stable condition on Friday.

Two other employees reported injuries they sustained when employees fled the facility after the shooting started. Police said when they arrived on scene, employees were streaming out of the building. Both employees were treated for their injuries and released.

Production at the plant was stopped until further notice, and in a statement, the company said it was working with local authorities on the investigation.

OSHA will be investigating. Ken Montgomery, the area director for OSHA, said inspectors would be looking at the company’s workplace violence program, and how the company identified how they would address workplace violence, including shelter-in-place guidelines and/or de-escalation techniques.

In Lewisville, Texas, a former Sysco employee shot and killed a current Sysco employee on May 17.

Around 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday, police responded to a call at the Sysco Food Supplies warehouse. Police said Lonnie Russell, 35, and Dominic Carroll, 35, got into an argument. Russell then shot and killed Carroll. After the shooting Russell ran from the scene, but was apprehended by police shortly thereafter.

And in Forsyth County, Georgia, a dispute between two co-workers ended with one dead after a shootout on May 17.

Police said they were called to Ernie Morris Enterprises, a business furniture and supplies warehouse, for gunfire. Investigators said Ja’Mychael Quintrez Peavy, 20, and Hamilton Samuel Darwin, 20, a temporary workers at the plant, got into a physical fight.

When things escalated, both men drew their guns, opening fire on each other. Darwin was shot and died at the scene, police said. Peavy was taken to the hospital in critical condition and treated for his injuries.

Police said Peavy will be charged with murder, but that additional charges are expected once the investigation is completed.

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