Manager Stabbed by Employee One of Several Workers Killed at Work this Month

Safety at Work

Eastpointe, MI (WorkersCompensation.com) – A McDonald’s manager is dead after one of their employees stabbed them after an argument.

Police said Jennifer Harris, 39, was working at the fast-food restaurant around 8 a.m. on July 10. Officers were dispatched to McDonald’s after receiving a report of a stabbing and of shots being fired. When officers arrived, they found that Harris and an employee had been involved in an argument after Harris sent the employee home for the day.

Officials said Afeni Badu Muhammad, 26, of Eastpointe, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, carrying a dangerous weapon with unlawful intent, and being a habitual offender.

Muhammad told detectives after she was sent home, she drove to a park and later decided to go back to the restaurant and stab her manager with a 3-inch-long kitchen knife she had inside of her vehicle.

When she returned to the restaurant, she told officers, she entered through the back door with a mask over her face to conceal her identity. She then stabbed Harris multiple times.

“She produced a weapon that was a knife longer than 3 inches, and she stabbed the victim multiple times, up to possibly as many as 15 times, eventually causing her death,” assistant prosecutor Hengeveld said during the woman’s arraignment.

Muhammad had ranted about her job just two days prior to the assault.

“I got sent home early yesterday,” Muhammad said in a video posted to Instagram. “I got sent home early today by the same person. I’m telling you she’s a bully."

She went on to say Harris brought a negative energy to the workplace and brought up being sent home two days in a row again.

“But to get sent home two days in a row, man,” Muhammad said in the video. “And I came in on my off day to make up my time. And she still sends me home early. It’s not funny. Somebody about to do something about that. It’s not funny. It’s not fair. It isn’t funny at all. So, you know, she can keep being a bully if she wants to, but that s*** is gonna catch up to her. Cuz it ain’t funny at all. It ain’t.”

After the stabbing, a customer who was in the drive-thru line intervened in the attack by firing a shot into the store. The customer then held the suspect at gunpoint to prevent her from fleeing until officers were able to respond.

“He had her sitting down there in the parking lot next to a vehicle, and he had the gun pointed at her,” Edward Ballestero, an employee of the restaurant told news crews. “That’s when police and all them rolled up.”

After the attack, Harris was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment but ultimately died of her injuries.

In Vernon, Cal., a 19-year-old worker was killed after getting stuck in an industrial food processor at a burrito factory.

Officials said the death happened at Tina’s Burritos factory in Vernon. According to the Los Angeles County Fire Department, rescue workers responded to the location at 9:30 p.m.

In an email to Gray News, the Los Angeles County Fire Department confirmed they responded to a call at that location around 9:30 p.m.

The Vernon Police Department said the victim was cleaning an industrial food processor when the machine unexpectedly turned on. While other workers reportedly tried to turn the machine off, they were not able to rescue him. By the time first responders arrived, the worker was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said it appeared to be an accident, and the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health is reportedly investigating.

In Northport, Ala., a U.S. Postal Service employee died after she was involved in a four-vehicle crash.

Police said Vonchelle Renee Gamble, 36, of Tuscaloosa, was driving about noon on July 15, when she was involved in a four-vehicle crash. Police said Gamble was pronounced dead on the scene, while three others were treated for minor injuries.

The U.S. Postal Service said they were working with investigators to determine the cause of the crash. USPS did confirm that Gamble was working at the time. The USPS said they were “deeply saddened by the loss of our postal family member. Our sincere condolences and thoughts go out to her family, friends, and co-workers.”

USPS said they were providing workers with onsite counseling and an employee assistance program.

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