Amazon worker's firearm suicide at a Massachusetts warehouse reveals safety concerns: report
Just one week after the disturbing suicide of an Amazon worker at a warehouse facility in Massachusetts, more details about the harrowing incident are coming into focus.
According to The Daily Beast, the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office has shed light on the timeline of events leading up to the shooting.
Speaking to the news outlet, David Traub, a spokesman for the Norfolk DA’s office responsible for overseeing investigations into unintentional deaths, said "that investigators don’t suspect foul play in the man’s death, but that the case won’t be closed until an autopsy report is complete. (A spokesman for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said the case is still pending.)"
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Per the news outlet, the employee, identified as Yvens Jea, was seen driving away from the facility but also returned a short while after departing.
“There was video footage available for law enforcement to review,” Traub told the Beast. “There is no belief that anyone else was involved in this.”
The disturbing incident has also sparked conversations about Amazon workers' concerns over employees having the ability to bring firearms to work since the warehouse lacks metal detectors.
“It’s a little uneasy feeling that there is the possibility of somebody toting around a gun for no good reason,” one person said.
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Another individual shared his feelings about the day-to-day experience inside Amazon's endlessly busy distribution network.
“It can be a stressful and thankless job,” the driver added of the Amazon warehouse. “Not knowing the guy who did that to himself, I can only imagine he couldn’t handle the pressure or was having some problems at home. But they [Amazon] work very hard to keep it from us. Pretend like everything’s fine here. Nothing to see here.”
In wake of the shooting, Amazon spokesperson Steve Kelly released a statement to the Beast on behalf of the company.
“We’re truly saddened by this incident and our thoughts are with everyone impacted,” Kelly said. “We are cooperating with law enforcement as they investigate and will defer any relevant questions to them for now.”
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