Expert reveals warning signs of workplace violence, in light of Homestead shootings

By Candice Nelson, wsls.com

The suspect in The Homestead shootings, Beacher Hackney, is still on the run. While the community is still in shock there, one local professor talked to us about warning signs that could have indicated something was wrong.

Dr. Tod Burke is not an expert on Beacher Hackney but the Radford University criminal justice professor researches violence in the workplace and knows its causes.

“A sluggish economy could be, drug and alcohol abuse, accessibility of weapons,” said Dr. Burke.

Hackney is 59 years old, and Burke said most offenders are men between 30 and 50 years old. They can also be considered loners.

Rage is a driving factor in cases like these and usually without a solid plan.

“While the person is angry at a supervisor or other employees, they may target others,” he said.

While Hackney is still on the run, Burke said usually the suspect will take his life in situations like these. What makes Hackney different is, “This idea of hiding, disappearing is quite unusual,” said Burke.

Burke went on to say there are three levels people go through before turning to violence in the workplace.

Level one includes consistent arguments with co-workers and constantly swearing at others. At level two, workers may refuse to obey policies or destroy equipment. By the time anybody gets to level three, somebody could get hurt. Characteristics seen at this stage include suicidal threats, physical fights, and using weapons to hurt others.

“They feel like they’ve been threatened in some way, and it hurts their self-esteem. Therefore they react,” Burke said.

As for any job concerns, a spokesperson at The Homestead says Hackney’s hours were not cut and there shouldn’t have been any worries about lay-offs in his department.

Burke says there is no one real cause of violence in the workplace, making it harder to pinpoint why two men were killed.

“Workplace violence situations are sometimes very personal. The only person who knows what’s going on is the person doing the offending themselves,” he said.