At least nine people, including the gunman, were shot and killed and others wounded Tuesday at a beer distributor, Hartford Distributors, in Manchester, Conn. Police said the suspect, Omar Thornton, turned the gun on himself when approached by police, The Hartford (Conn.) Courant reported. Officials said the suspect walked into a building and opened fire, WTNH-TV, Hartford, reported. Police were alerted to the situation when someone called and said "somebody's been shot, there's a victim down," a Manchester police lieutenant related at a press briefing. A spokesman for the union which represents some of the workers at the beer company said the gunman, a driver at the company, was hired about a year ago and came to work today to face a disciplinary hearing.
In numerous articles on mitigating workplace violence in Security Magazine, the bottom line is that it’s really a matter of risk management. Violence in all types and forms must be understood and managed, according to Barry Nixon, executive director of the National Institute for Prevention of Workplace Violence.
Over the last two decades, the Department of Labor and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) have provided insightful information on workplace violence fatalities and nonfatal incidents. While these statistical reports have provided essential details, in most cases businesses have not been able to translate them into cogent plans to address this ever-present problem. Nixon's article for one focuses on helping those charged with the responsibility for addressing workplace violence to understand the potential business and financial impact of violence on their work environment.
In the July 2010 issue of Security, there is another helpful article: Using Access and ID Control to Prevent Workplace Violence by Bernard J. Scaglione.
In the August issue, a special report is Workplace Violence: It’s Security Business by Security Magazine Editor Diane Ritchey.
