Assault is fifth-leading cause of workplace deaths, National Safety Council says

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A gunman opened fire at a bank in Downtown Louisville Monday morning, killing four people.

Louisville police have now said they have reason to believe the shooter, who has yet to be identified was a previous employee at the bank.

The National Safety Council reports that assault is the fifth leading cause of workplace deaths in America. According to the council, 20,050 people were injured in 2020 as a result of workplace assault, and 392 people died.

The council also reports that those working in the healthcare or education field, and service providers are at a higher risk for becoming victims of workplace assault.

"It's a problem everyone is trying to solve and I don't believe there is any silver bullet that is going to fix this kind of problem," Ray McCarty, president of Associated Industries of Missouri, said.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health reports that workplace violence falls into four categories:

• Criminal intent
• Customer/ client
• Worker-on-worker
• Personal relationship (targets women at a higher rate)

The NSC notes that every workplace should address workplace violence, and have a policy in place in the event that that its business is targeted.

Some of these policies include employee training and creating an emergency action plan, conducting mock training exercises with local law enforcement and adapting a zero-tolerance policy toward workplace violence. Certain technologies such as weapon detectors, panic buttons and cameras can also help prevent and combat incidents of violence.

There is no way to know if your workplace will be under attack, but some signs to look for -- according to the NSC -- that could signal a potential attack include:

• Excessive use of alcohol or drugs.
• Unexplained absenteeism, change in behavior or decline in job performance.
• Depression, withdrawal or suicidal comments.
• Resistance to changes at work or persistent complaining about unfair treatment.
• Violation of company policies.
• Emotional responses to criticism, mood swings.
• Paranoia.