Retail Worker Fatality Narrative: Attendant Shot in Gas Station Food Mart

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Washington (State). Department of Labor and Industries
• Description:
  A 60-year-old attendant was fatally shot working at a gas station food mart. He was employed at the franchise for 21 years. His duties included helping customers, cashiering, stocking shelves, and cleaning. The 24-hour accessible store was on a corner of a busy commercial intersection. The attendant worked the day shift, but always arrived two hours early before the store's lone late night attendant's shift ended at 7 a.m. At 5:40 a.m., when no customers were present, an unknown gunman came in through the store's front entrance. He walked past the front counter and through a storage area door next to it. The attendant, who was at the counter, saw the gunman through a window in the door. When the attendant opened the door, the gunman turned toward him and fired twice from a .40 caliber handgun as the worker tried to flee. One bullet hit a wall, but the other hit the attendant. As the wounded attendant fell to the floor, his shooter ran away. The night shift attendant, who was in a cooler stocking shelves, called 911 as the shooting was underway. First responders declared the attendant dead at the scene. The incident was recorded on surveillance video. Detectives believed the gunman was attempting to rob the store. Following the incident, investigators found: The employer instructed workers to not resist hostile and aggressive customers, and allow shoplifters and robbers to take what they wanted. Store security measures included a written robbery response procedure, 11 surveillance cameras inside and 5 outside, windows that were not entirely covered with advertisements, ample interior and exterior lighting, a foot-activated silent panic button under the front counter to notify police during emergencies, a $100 cash register till drawer limit, and cash drop safes. REQUIREMENTS: All retail businesses operating between 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. are required to follow late night retail worker crime prevention rules. RECOMMENDATIONS: FACE investigators concluded that to help prevent similar occurrences, employers should: Develop a custom workplace violence prevention program for late-night retail establishments with site-specific policies, procedures, training, and program evaluation requirements. Conduct a workplace security analysis to identify hazards, conditions, operations, and situations that could lead to violence. If possible, hire a certified security consultant to do the analysis. Select engineering, procedural, and administrative controls from OSHA's recommendations for workplace violence prevention programs in late-night retail establishments. Controls can include changes to store layout, door access, and staffing levels. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Mortality Occupational Health Safety Staff Development Workplace
• Keywords:
  Fatalities Gunshot Wounds Hazard IDs Protective Measures Retail Workers Safety Education Safety Practices Surveillance Training Work Environment Worker Safety

  More +
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Publisher:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Report
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 10 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20067289
• Citation:
  Olympia, WA: Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, 71-236-2023, 2023 Apr; :1
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2023
• Performing Organization:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Retail worker fatality narrative: attendant shot in gas station food mart
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:b79c244d8f4c4e21f0d7fdcc6e321065ef16caebc640e2f7d5a9df7837d651a6df2eaf5162ea0ba2dbac8fb105f60d4a89c0a7df84bb19bbc3767d6e6f8cb795
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/229161/cdc_229161_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 298.47 KB ]