Retail Worker Fatality Narrative: Clerk Shot in Robbery of Family Gas Station

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Washington (State). Department of Labor and Industries
• Description:
  A 30-year-old gas station clerk was shot in a robbery. He worked for his aunt and uncle, who owned the gas station for three years. The clerk moved to the United States the previous year to learn how to run his own business. His aunt and uncle provided him room, board, and transportation. The gas station was in a rural area by an interstate highway. It was open daily from 8 am to 8 pm. On the day of the incident, the clerk was working with his uncle. At 4 pm, his uncle left to run some errands. Soon after returning, he was called to leave again, so he planned to come back later to drive the clerk home. The clerk was now alone to serve customers, close up, and prepare for the next day. He also had access to the store's safe where the cash till was placed at closing time. He worked alone several times before when his uncle left to get supplies. The clerk was restocking shelves when, around 8:45 pm, two men wearing masks and gloves entered the front door. One had a long gun with an extended magazine, and the other had a bag and flex cuffs. The man with the gun aimed it at the clerk, who was walking toward the cash register. The clerk turned his back to the gunman and both began to struggle over the gun. The other man joined the struggle before the assailants fled in a pick-up truck. A passerby saw the men fleeing and called 911. First responders found the clerk dead from a single shotgun wound to the chest. Interior and exterior surveillance cameras recorded the incident. Police caught both assailants and a third accomplice two hours away the next morning. Following the incident, investigators found: The employer did not have an accident prevention program (APP) or separate workplace violence prevention program policies or training. The employer discussed robbery scenarios with the clerk and told him not to resist robbers. The store had never been previously robbed. REQUIREMENTS: You must provide your employees a workplace free from recognized hazards that are causing, or are likely to cause, serious injury or death. RECOMMENDATIONS: FACE investigators concluded that to help prevent similar occurrences, employers should: Develop a written APP that has a workplace violence prevention program with store-specific standard operating procedure (SOP) policies for emergencies and robberies, initial and refresher worker training, and program assessment and enhancement requirements. Conduct a store security analysis to identify hazards, conditions, operations, and situations that could lead to violence. If possible, hire a certified retail security consultant to assess risks. Follow OSHA's recommendations for workplace violence prevention programs in late-night retail establishments (see link below). Avoid working alone and improve store layout, access, lighting, video surveillance, cash limit signage, cash control methods, and incident tracking. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Mortality Occupational Health Safety Violence
• Keywords:
  Fatalities Gas Stations Homicides Retail Workers Safety Education Violence Prevention
• 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:20069206
• Citation:
  Olympia, WA: Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, 71-250-2024, 2024 Feb; :1
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2024
• Performing Organization:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Retail worker fatality narrative: clerk shot in robbery of family gas station
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:0dd60d1dac24bf75c572658a3c3740ae4f77fa6c694c0428da0e2be18a703cf0557370443d0dc62b6e9862ca2ad6500ba8604661146afa0958f53d48f0e0dde6
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/229206/cdc_229206_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 287.39 KB ]