Employees Take Aim at Coworkers, Managers

St. Louis, MO (WorkersCompensation.com) – Over the past week, employees have taken aim at their co-workers and managers, sometimes to fatal results.   

In St. Louis, Mo., a McDonald’s employee allegedly fatally shot a coworker on Tuesday night.   

Officials said Terrance King, 19, of St. Louis, got into an altercation with a co-worker, Kevyn Henderson, 23, outside the restaurant around 8:20 p.m. In a probable cause statement, St. Louis Metropolitan Police officers said King and Henderson began arguing outside of the store.   

During a press conference, Lt. Col. Ronnie Robinson, of the St. Louis Police Department, said the cause for the argument was not clear.   

“It’s just very tragic that we consistently have these types of situations constantly,” Robinson said during a news conference. “Young people, older people also, solving their problems and disputes with weapons, and weapons are so powerful these days they’re built to kill people. So, it’s just a shame that this happens over and over and over again.”  

King was charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action. He pleaded not guilty during his first court appearance on Friday. He is currently being held without bail and is awaiting a bond hearing, according to KMOV.   

In Cincinnati, an employee is accused of critically wounding her manager when they refused to give them their job back.   

Cincinnati police said Angel Kidd, 27, had recently been fired from Little Caesars Pizza in the Hartwell community. According to police reports, Kidd returned to the business on Tuesday night and requested her job back.  

“After being told she would not be re-hired she began fighting the store manager in the parking lot. During the struggle (Kidd) pulled a gun and shot the store manager in the left leg. (She) fled the scene in a blue SUV.”  

The manager was taken to University of Cincinnati Medical Center in critical condition, police said. Officials said the manager underwent surgery, but that their condition was unknown as of Friday.   

Kidd was arrested and charged with felonious assault. Her bond was set at $500,000 during her arraignment on Friday.   

Her attorney asked the judge for a lower bond, saying she had a valid defense for the assault, and that more would be revealed in the coming weeks. Kidd has no prior criminal history, the attorney said.   

And in Atlanta, a McDonald’s employee has been arrested for shooting his manager.   

Police said Christopher Jean-Pierre was employed at the McDonald’s on Moreland Avenue in East Atlanta when he got into an argument with his manager, Elizabeth Williams.   

According to investigators, Williams asked Jean-Pierre to leave work after the two got into an argument. Jean-Pierre later came back to the fast food restaurant and shot Williams multiple times. Williams was rushed to Grady Hospital in critical condition.  

Jean-Pierre was charged with aggravated assault, aggravated battery, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and criminal attempt to commit murder.   

A spokesperson for Sunshine and Sunrise Enterprises, which owns the McDonald’s, said there was no indication of any fights between Jean-Pierre and Williams before the incident, and that Williams was even known to take Jean-Pierre’s laundry to her home to wash it for him.   

“The owner of the organization calls her sugar pie, honey bunch. She is an amazing person. Always glass half full, just a very southern accent and just someone you would instantly love,” Colnith Brown, who works for Sunshine and Sunrise Enterprise, which owns the McDonald’s. “We just ask that the public, the community, pray for our general manager. And also pray for, you know, the community at large.”  

According to a 2019 SHRM survey, about 2 million people in the U.S. report being victimized by workplace violence, but that about a quarter of workplace violence incidents go unreported. One-fourth of American workers reported that their current workplace had been the scene of at least one incident of workplace violence.   

Experts think employers could see an increase in workplace violence as more Americans return to work.   

Retired FBI agent Terri Patterson, now a psychologist with risk management consulting firm Control Risks, said workers are continuing to struggle with physical, mental and emotional stress from the COVID-19 pandemic.   

"I do firmly believe that we're still in that space where we have a workforce that is really vulnerable right now," she said. "We do believe that a stressed population is more vulnerable to becoming disgruntled or aggrieved."  

Brent O’Bryan, senior vice president of training and organizational effectiveness at Allied Universal, told SHRM that triggered by “real or perceived increases in stress.”   

"When we are worried about finances, family and health, we may struggle with hope and optimism," O'Bryan said. "If these issues are not addressed and then collide with workplace stressors like commuting, team conflict and deadlines, the risk of violent acts in the workplace may increase."  

O’Bryan said the earlier an organization addresses the workplace violence, the better the chances the organization will see a positive outcome.