A mean, overbearing boss picks on a weak, Dilbert-like underling. And cases where an employee attacks another employee make up about 10 percent of workplace homicides. The mayor of Atlanta quoted witnesses as saying Barton was upset about recent stock losses but said there were no accounts of any specific provocation on Thursday. Some of the most common examples are of clients attacking social workers, patients attacking nurses or clients attacking family law attorneys. They've gone through channels, they may have talked to supervisors or customer service people, yet they don't feel that they're getting satisfaction.
Similar Massacres Are Rare Still, incidents as severe as the one in Atlanta are rare.
The last time a similar massacre occurred was six years ago in San Francisco. He opened fire in the glass high-rise, killing eight people and wounding six others before committing suicide. Incidents of client-employee violence are particularly difficult to predict. It is possible, though, that Barton telegraphed some warning signs to employees at the brokerages. One of the best predictors of someone becoming violent is if they had a history of violent behavior, says workplace violence consultant Larry Chavez.