Employee Shootings Spill Over From 2020 To 2021

St. Louis, Mo. (WorkersCompensation.com) – A trend of shooting food service and retail workers over petty confrontations has continued into the New Year with four employees being shot within the last two weeks.

On Dec. 22, in St. Louis, police reported that a Wendy’s worker was shot over dipping sauce. The victim, a 31-year-old man who was not identified, police said, was shot in the arm and torso.

According to police reports, witnesses said a customer in the drive-thru of the restaurant asked for extra dipping sauce with his order. When he did not receive it, he pulled up to the front of the store. The victim told police that he went out to talk to the customer. As he turned to go back inside, the customer fired shots at him and left in a dark-colored Nissan, police said.

On Dec. 29, in Salem, N.J., police reported that a Verizon subcontractor was shot after a group of young men asked him for change. Salem Police said two Verizon workers were approached by three young men who asked the victim for change. When he refused, one of the men shot the victim in the mouth and then the group ran away. Police said the victim was in stable condition.

On Jan. 2, two loss prevention officers and a deputy of the Loudon County Sheriff’s Office were shot when a customer tried to leave a Walmart in Sterling, Va.

The sheriff’s office said in a press release that the store’s loss prevention officers approached the suspect after seeing him stealing items, and called the sheriff’s office. When the sheriff’s deputy arrived on scene, the suspect resisted arrest and fired on the officer and loss prevention officers.

The suspect fled into the parking lot and stole a pick-up truck. Officers fired on the suspect, striking him at least once. The officers were able to apprehend him later when he crashed the truck.

"He ended up striking the loss-prevention officers one time in each of their legs as far as we know," Loudoun County Sheriff Mike Chapman said. "One of our two deputies was shot and struck several times."

The three were treated for serious, but not life-threatening injuries.

On Jan. 3 in Atlanta, a store clerk was shot in the parking lot of their place of employment.

Police said the victim was working Sunday night at the Troy Food Mart in Northwest Atlanta, when they went to retrieve some items from their car. Police said an unknown assailant walked up to the clerk and shot them. The clerk was taken to an area hospital suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.

That same day in New Orleans, La., an IHOP employee was shot when she tried to confront someone allegedly breaking into her car. According to the New Orleans Police Department, around 10 p.m. on Sunday, a witness told the employee that someone was breaking into her car. When the employee went into the parking lot to confront the car thief the suspect fired on the employee, shooting her in the head. Police are asking people to view security footage of the incident in order to help them identify the shooter.

And on Monday, Jan. 4, an employee of a car lot was shot during a gun fight between the occupants of two cars in Salisbury, N.C. Salisbury police said a 24-year-old employee of Southern Motors on S. Main Street was carrying tools when two cars, a silver Cadillac CTS occupied by three men wearing black masks, and a silver Jeep Cherokee, passed each other on the road and began firing on each other.

The shooters also struck a pick-up truck in the car lot’s parking lot. The victim was treated at a nearby hospital and released, police said.

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