Security expert foresees more workplace violence

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - A national expert on workplace violence says what happened at FedEx in Indianapolis could signal an uptick in mass shootings everywhere. The indiscriminate violence that unfolded April 16, 2021, left nine dead, including the gunman who took his own life.

“People have been cooped up, locked up, lots of anxiety, depression, aggression buildup,” said Tim Dimoff, whose company, Sacs Consulting and Security Services, works to prevent workplace shootings such as the one at FedEx. However, those preventative measures require an organization to see red flags and contact him first.

Calls of concern, he says, are becoming more and more frequent.

“Ten years ago, we had calls from companies that were dealing with irate or aggressive terminated employees, we might have done or been called about 3 to 5 of those per year 10 years ago. We’re averaging 5 to 7 of those phone calls per month,” says Dimoff, who adds a main component of the recent mass shootings is likely the result of negative emotions brought on during the pandemic.

While the violence at FedEx was isolated to a single location, Dimoff predicts more will occur in other workplaces as we pull out of the pandemic and heated emotions become released. He says mass shootings may become more frequent during the next few years.

“My initial thought is I think we’ve got a rough one to two years here. From what I’ve seen and experienced, it’s just not something that’s going to be solved overnight,” Dimoff concludes.