Most employee attackers (n = 20, 91%) had significant stressors within five years of their attack.
Sample (n = 20 of 22) · current or former employee attackers (22 attacks, each by a lone attacker)
Most employee attackers (n = 20, 91%) had significant stressors within five years of their attack.
Financial difficulties were among the most common stressors of employee attackers (n = 13, 59%).
Sample (n = 13 of 22) · current or former employee attackers (22 attacks, each by a lone attacker)
financial difficulties (n = 13, 59%)
Over one-third of attackers (n = 8, 36%) were victims of bullying or harassment at work.
Sample (n = 8 of 22) · current or former employee attackers (22 attacks, each by a lone attacker)
over one-third of attackers (n = 8, 36%) were victims of bullying or harassment at work
Most employee attackers (n = 18, 82%) elicited concern from others around them.
Sample (n = 18 of 22) · current or former employee attackers (22 attacks, each by a lone attacker)
Most employee attackers (n = 18, 82%) elicited concern from others around them
Half of those who elicited concern (n = 9) did so with colleagues in the workplace.
Sample (n = 9 of 18) · employee attackers who elicited concern from others
half of whom (n = 9) elicited concern from colleagues in the workplace
Over three-quarters of employee attackers (n = 17, 77%) made concerning communications.
Sample (n = 17 of 22) · current or former employee attackers (22 attacks, each by a lone attacker)
Over three-quarters of employee attackers (n = 17, 77%) made concerning communications.
Concerning communications included threatening statements (n = 9).
Sample (n = 9 of 17) · employee attackers who made concerning communications
This included threatening statements (n = 9)
Other statements were not objectively threatening but elicited concern from those who heard them (n = 10).
Sample (n = 10 of 17) · employee attackers who made concerning communications
statements that were not objectively threatening but elicited concern from those who heard them (n = 10)
One attacker accused his wife of spying for the government and made her write to him, then burned the pages. Another threatened coworkers at a cemetery, prompting his termination, and then complained about them for seven years.
For example, one attacker accused his wife of collaborating with the government to spy on him
A 64-year-old man who had been fired from a cemetery seven years earlier vowed revenge and threatened employees. He shot one person dead and injured two more at the cemetery before surrendering.
A 64-year-old man rode his bike to a cemetery where he used a handgun to shoot and kill one person
Most employee attackers were currently employed at the targeted site at the time of the attack (n = 16, 73%).
Sample (n = 16 of 22) · current or former employee attackers (22 attacks, each by a lone attacker)
most employee attackers were currently employed at the targeted site at the time of the attack (n = 16, 73%)
Current employee attackers ranged in tenure from 13 days to 22 years.
ranging in tenure from 13 days to 22 years
Most current employee attackers (n = 12) initiated their attack during or immediately following a work shift.
Sample (n = 12 of 16) · attackers who were current employees of the targeted site
most (n = 12) initiated their attack either during or immediately following a work shift
Six attackers were former employees at the time of their attack.
Six attackers were former employees
Most of the former employees (n = 5) had been terminated by the organization.
Sample (n = 5 of 6) · attackers who were former employees of the targeted site
most (n = 5) of whom had been terminated by the organization
The time between termination and attack varied, from one attacker who began his attack at the end of a termination meeting to another who targeted a site where he had been fired seven years earlier.
ranging from one attacker who immediately began his attack at the conclusion of a termination meeting, to another attacker who targeted a location where he had been terminated seven years earlier
Two employees perpetrated attacks after submitting their resignation.
Two employees perpetrated attacks after submitting their resignation.
Figure 2 is a pie chart of the employment status of employee attackers: Current (n = 16) and Former (n = 6).
FIGURE 2 Employment Status
Two days before the attack, the attacker received an eviction notice from the apartment complex where he lived and worked.
Two days prior to the attack, the attacker received an eviction notice from the apartment complex where he lived and worked.
Before the cemetery attack, the attacker rigged his apartment, garage, and an adjacent residence with a series of incendiary devices, which were detected before they could detonate.
Prior to the attack at the cemetery, the attacker rigged his apartment, garage, and an adjacent residence with a series of incendiary devices, which were detected before they could detonate.
Another employee attacker threatened coworkers at the cemetery where he worked, prompting his termination.
Another attacker threatened coworkers at the cemetery where he worked, prompting his termination.
For seven years after his termination, the cemetery attacker complained to others about the cemetery and its employees before carrying out his attack.
For seven years following his termination, the attacker complained to others about the cemetery and its employees before perpetrating his attack.
After being terminated from the cemetery seven years earlier, the attacker had vowed revenge and threatened to kill cemetery employees.
The attacker had vowed revenge and threatened to kill cemetery employees after he had been terminated from the cemetery seven years earlier.
While employed, the cemetery attacker made threatening statements that concerned coworkers, leading to calls to law enforcement and eventually his termination.
As an employee, the attacker had made threatening statements that concerned coworkers, prompting calls to law enforcement and his eventual termination.
The first of the two resigning attackers submitted his two weeks' notice at the start of his workday, completed his shift, and then began his attack.
The first attacker submitted his two weeks' notice at the beginning of his workday, completed his shift, and then inittiated his attack.
The second resigning attacker was a former employee who had resigned in lieu of termination two years earlier after sexually harassing and threatening colleagues.
The second attacker was a former employee who resigned in lieu of termination two years earlier after he had sexually harassed and threatened colleagues.
16 of 22 employee attackers (73%) experienced employment-related issues, one of the most common stressor types.
Sample (n = 16 of 22) · current or former employee attackers (22 attacks, each by a lone attacker)
employment-related issues (n = 16, 73%)
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