Warehouse Worker Goes on Stabbing Rampage & Kills Two Co-Workers

Unfortunately, another incident of workplace violence occurred recently in Canada, with tragic results.

On Feb. 28, 2014, Jayme Pasieka, a 29-year-old worker at a Loblaw distribution centre in west Edmonton, went on a stabbing rampage with two knives. He killed two co-workers in the warehouse and seriously injured four others.

The police arrested Pasieka without incident about three hours later. He faces first-degree murder, attempted murder and other charges.

Police said Pasieka had worked at the Loblaw warehouse for two years. A co-worker said he didn’t have friends at work. Family members believe he suffers from an undiagnosed mental illness.

Thomas Lukaszuk, Alberta’s minister of jobs, skills, training and labour, said that once the police investigation is complete, OHS officers will conduct their own investigation.

OHS Insider Resources

This tragedy sadly demonstrates that workplace violence can happen anywhere and in any kind of industry. So take this opportunity to review your company’s workplace violence policies and programs to ensure that they’re adequate and that workers and supervisors have been properly trained.

Go the OHS Insider’s Workplace Violence Compliance Centre where you’ll find, among other things:

• An article on using threat assessment teams (TATs)
• A recording of a webinar on TATs
• Information and tools on conducting a workplace violence risk assessment
• A workplace violence threat assessment checklist.