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64 FBI L. Enforcement Bull. 20 (1995)
Death in the Office: Workplace Homicides

handle is hein.journals/fbileb64 and id is 120 raw text is: Death In The Office Workplace Homicides By T. STANLEY DUNCAN, M.S. Nit Ncoc G-W te,, -J h' We ret. ' 'ViSo rke ~K>~ I / I I _ 2~ I I his is what you get forfiring me. These were the last words that three former coworkers of Paul Calden would ever hear. Fired 9 months earlier from an insurance company in Tampa, Florida. Calden returned to the cafeteria of his former employer and began shoot- ing. Within minutes, five people were wounded, three of whom died. Calden fled in a rental car, only to comuit suicide in a park where he used to play frisbee. In many ways, Calden was a classic, violence- prone ex-employee, and in many ways, he was not. But the type of crime he committed is on the rise and is one of the newest and most threatening dangers in the work- place. This article focuses on work- place homicides committed by known assailants. It highlights com- mon offender characteristics to help law enforcement apprehend sus pects. Finally, it identifies the causes of such crimes, which may prevent them from occurring in the first place. BACKGROUND According to the National Insti- tute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), homicide was the third leading cause of occupational death from 1980 to 1985, account- ing for 13 percent of all workplace deaths.2 For women, homicide is the leading cause of death in the work- place. A 1993 study conducted by an insurance company found that strangers made only 16 percent of threats in the workplace: customers or clients made 36 percent; current or former employees accounted for the majority 43 percent.' 20 / FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin 41