Workplaces are common sites for mass shootings. What to know about warning signs
When news of a mass shooting makes headlines or gets wall-to-wall coverage, it can be easy to ask how the shooter’s friends, family and co-workers didn’t know what they were planning.
But according to Jennifer Godbey, a licensed clinical social worker and counselor with UK HealthCare, we should be careful what we assume about these types of events, particularly of the parents involved.
“In our society, we put a lot of pressure on parents, and we hold parents responsible for even their adult children’s behavior,” Godbey told the Herald-Leader in an interview Thursday. “Parents are not mind readers … even the most well-intentioned and aware parent may not be able to detect if something is really wrong.”
Instead of scapegoating the people close to the perpetrator, Godbey calls for a broader kind of soul-searching, for people to deeply examine their own power to prevent gun violence and act as the collective.
“There has to be this opportunity for healing and forgiveness to happen and also looking at ‘What do we do differently?’ or ‘How do we address this?’ so that we can try to prevent future incidents,” Godbey said.
Workplaces are the most common mass shooting sites, data show
According to the Violence Project, a nonprofit research organization dedicated to violence reduction, workplaces are the most common sites where mass shootings take place.
Still, workplace shootings are generally rare when it comes to overall gun violence in the U.S.
According to the Violence Project, an employment-related issue, such as a termination, is the most common factor behind gun violence in the workplace. That’s followed by interpersonal conflicts and economic or legal issues.
Between 1966 and 2021, 53 workplace shootings occurred throughout the country, according to the Violence Project. They made up more than 30% of the overall 188 mass shootings during that period.
What are the warning signs of gun violence and other harmful acts?
In as many as four out of five school shootings, at least one person had knowledge of the attacker’s plan but failed to report it. That’s according to the Sandy Hook Promise, a national anti-gun violence nonprofit founded by the family members of the victims in the deadly 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
People who hurt themselves or others often show warning signs beforehand, but they can be easily missed if their peers don’t know what to watch for or hand wave them away. According to the nonprofit, there are specific behaviors people can look for.
The following isn’t a complete list, and demonstrating one of these behaviors or emotions doesn’t necessarily mean violence is imminent. If you’re concerned about troubling behaviors in the workplace, you should report it or call 911 if there’s an immediate threat.
10 warning signs to watch for:
Suddenly withdrawing from friends, family and activities, including online or via social media
Bullying, people of different races, religions, genders or sexual orientations
An excessive irritability, lack of patience or being quick to anger
Experiencing or exhibiting chronic loneliness or social isolation
The person is expressing persistent thoughts of hurting themselves or others
Making direct threats to a place, another person or themselves
Bragging about access to guns or other weapons
Recruiting accomplices or audiences for an attack
Directly expressing a threat as a plan
Cruelty to animals
For her part, Godbey also warns against becoming “numb” to gun violence more broadly.
If you feel powerless, prioritize taking care of yourself first and then look inward at what you can do to address the problem, even if it’s in a small way, she said.
“There’s an opportunity for everyone to get involved at some level,” she said.
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