Amazon Employee Stabbed by Coworker 

Las Vegas, NV (WorkersCompensation.com) – Add being attacked by a co-worker to the list of dangers Amazon warehouse workers face on the job.  

Police in Las Vegas say an Amazon employee is recovering this week after he was attacked by a co-worker inside a warehouse there. His attack joins a growing list of incidents between Amazon co-workers.  

On Oct. 12, Ls Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officers responded to a call about a potential stabbing at the warehouse. When they arrived, they found the victim who said he had been stabbed with a box cutter by a co-worker in the employee locker room.  

Police identified the suspect as Kenneth Durhal. According to police reports, the victim was walking out to take a break with a female coworker when they passed Durhal. When the victim made a joke about Durhal’s braids causing the woman and others nearby to laugh, Durhal waved the victim to follow him into the locker room area.  

The victim told police that he believed Durhal was upset over the joke and that the two of them were about to “hash it out”, so he followed Durhal to the locker room. Once there, the two men began to fight. The victim claimed that Durhal said he was going to kill him.  

Durhal struck the victim twice, causing lacerations on the left side of his head and the back of his neck. The victim was treated at the scene. Durhal left the warehouse following the attack.  

Police said Durhal claimed he’d arrived at work in a bad mood because “he had dropped his lean” and the mushroom bars he ate were not kicking in. In his version of events, the victim had threatened him with a box cutter. Surveillance video and witness statements proved Durhal’s version of the story were not true and he was arrested.  

Durhal was charged with domestic battery and attempted murder. He was released under the condition he stay out of trouble and have no contact with the victim.  

Several attacks on coworkers have happened at Amazon warehouses in the past year.  

On Sept. 18, in Tukwila, Wash., an Amazon employee fled the warehouse after slashing a co-worker in the face with a box cutter.  

Police said an altercation between two coworkers at the warehouse ended in one worker being injured and another the subject of a manhunt.  

Witnesses said they heard a commotion at the facility that included raised voices and racial slurs. The altercation went on for several minutes. Eventually, the incident escalated and one employee grabbed a box cutter and cut the other employee across the face. The employee then fled the scene.  

The victim was treated at the scene for non-life-threatening injuries. Amazon expressed relief the incident was not more dangerous.  

“We’re grateful no one was seriously injured during this incident and thank local police who arrived on site within minutes,” Amazon said in a statement.  

In December of last year, an Amazon worker was shot when a gunman entered the parking lot of a Chandler, Ariz. warehouse and opened fire.  

Police said on Dec. 14, 2022, 29-year-old Jacob Murphy drove to the back employee parking lot, where he jumped out of his car and opened fire. Murphy struck an Amazon contract worker in the shooting. Another Amazon worker, who saw what was happening, opened fire on the shooter, killing him. The contract worker was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries, police said. The shooter was determined to have been killed by both a self-inflicted wound and gunfire from the Amazon employee.  

Officials said the shooters girlfriend worked at the Amazon facility, and he had come to the Flex Warehouse to confront one of her coworkers.  

“The victim contacted Murphy in the parking lot, feeling something was strange, and attempted to get Murphy to exit the property,” Srgt. Jason McClimans with the Chandler Police Department said. “This is when Murphy shot the victim numerous times. The third male, hearing and observing the shooting, used his gun and fired upon Murphy, protecting the victim.”  

Amazon expressed sadness at the shooting.  

“We’re deeply saddened by this senseless act of violence in our parking lot,” company spokesman Richard Rocha said in a statement. “We’re working closely with law enforcement as they investigate and are focused on supporting our team during this difficult time.”  

Operations at the facility were suspended after the shooting and all employees were sent home with pay, Rocha said.  

And in November of last year, 10 Amazon workers were injured in a violent incident at the JFK8 Amazon warehouse in Staten Island.  

Officials said a disgruntled employee at the facility pulled a fire alarm causing thousands of workers at the distribution center to be evacuated. Once the evacuation had started, officials said, the employee began spraying coworkers with fire extinguishers.  

"A disgruntled worker who was also partially unclothed attacked several workers with a fire extinguisher inside of JFK8," wrote Amazon Labor Union Executive Secretary Michelle Valentin Nieves on Twitter the morning of the attack. "They were sprayed in the face and had to be taken to the hospital via ambulance as the fumes went into their [eyes, nose and mouth]." 

Fire fighters said 10 people sustained injuries during the incident, but all refused treatment.  

Amazon spokesperson Steve Kelly said at the time of the incident that the company is "thankful that no one was seriously injured during today's incident and for the quick work of emergency responders." 

“The safety and health of our employees is, and always has been, our top priority," Maureen Lynch Vogel, Amazon spokesperson, said in a statement. "We have a zero tolerance policy and take immediate action when incidents arise. Any violent incident is one too many and we’ll continue to focus on providing training that both prevents and helps employees respond to workplace violence.”

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