Orlando Shooting Comes as Trend in Workplace Violence Drops Christian Science Monitor (11/07/09) Trumbull, Mark A former employee of the Orlando engineering firm Reynolds Smith & Hills walked into the company's offices on Friday and opened fire, killing one person and leaving five other injured. The alleged shooter, Jason Rodriguez, was found later at his mother's home. It remains unclear exactly why Rodriguez went on a shooting rampage in the offices of his former employer. However, Ken Jacobson, a top manager and legal counsel at Reynolds Smith & Hills, said Rodriguez had been hired from his job in mid-2007 after he failed to take steps to improve his performance at work. Despite Friday's shooting, workplace homicides are not on the rise. Statistics released by the Labor Department show that there were 517 workplace homicides in 2008, a number that was half of what it was in the early 1990s. Most of these killings are incidents such as convenience store robberies that turn violent, said Steve Kaufer, the co-founder of the Palm Springs, Calif.-based Workplace Violence Research Institute. Nevertheless, employers are taking steps to prevent workplace violence, including training employees to look for signs that colleagues may commit violent acts, installing security systems such as badge-swipe access controls, and implementing threat-response policies. Contact Summit Security & Investigation for a confidential consultation or 24/7 immediate service. Uniformed or plain clothes. Unarmed or armed guards available. Concealed weapons with nicely dressed security officers are our specialty. Summit Security & Investigation website 505-255-6063 (local) 877-707-4300 (toll-free) |





Comments