FedEx Shooting: Resources to Help HR Deal with Violence at Work

A shooter described as being armed with an assault rifle opened fire this morning at a FedEx station outside Atlanta, wounding at least six people before police found the suspect dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot. These tragic events are a major issue for human resource professionals. Violence, whether committed from within by employees or randomly from outside the organization can have devastating effects on a workplace. The following SHRM resources are meant to help employers prevent and mitigate the risks of workplace violence.

Toolkits:
Dealing with Violence in the Workplace
Domestic Violence at Work

Articles:

Protecting Your Workplace from Active Shooter Situations
Securing Against Random Acts of Violence
Workplace Violence Policies and Practices for HR
Managing High-Risk Employees
Recent Shooting Sprees Raise Awareness Among Employers
Avoid Violent Terminations with a Show of Respect

ASIS/SHRM Workplace Violence Prevention and Intervention Standard:
The standard provides an overview of general security policies, processes, and protocols that organizations can adopt to help prevent threatening behavior and violence affecting the workplace and better respond to and resolve security incidents involving threats and episodes of actual violence.

Resource Page:
SHRM’s Disaster Prep and Response Resource Page contains additional links to public resources and articles on crisis management, how to handle HR processes during an emergency, and how to aid victims following a disaster.