Is this what we are coming to? Story behind the Empire State Bldg. carnage.

"A decline in sales led to the sort of belt-tightening that occurred all over, and Mr. Johnson, who could be replaced with a lower-paid employee, was an easy target. "He didn't freak out," the longtime co-worker said. "He wanted to keep his computer; fine, no problem. There were no threats, none of that." Once, the co-worker ran into Mr. Johnson on the street; he seemed fine."

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2012/08/25/nyregion/in-empire-state-killing-a-grudge-boiled-over.xml

Once again, the media will harp on the fact that the shooter was unemployed, and once again the unemployed will be demonized because of it. The media will also try to portray this as another isolated case.

In my opinion, the shooter was victomized by his boss/coworker and was pushed over the edge. Although the shooter was a soft-spoken loner, his neighbors say he was a really nice guy. He had no criminal record and no history of mental problems.

Let this be a lesson to those who go around screwing people and screwing with people's heads, livelyhoods, and careers. Although the vast majority will merely fanticize about putting you in a hospital or in a hole in the ground, some, who have the means MAY actually act on it!

It's such a sad story. Sad for all. Prayers for all of their families.

Looks like its pretty much he shot the man that fired him and the Police shot the rest....with rush limbaugh sputtering some of his nonsence for good measure......

such a sad story!

My friend works just down the street from there so I heard it from her first on her Facebook, before the story even broke. They've made efforts to reduce bullying in schools, why not at work, too? Employers only care about their company, they never stand up for their employees anymore.

I was really happy to hear that a friend of mine was asked to meet with the board at the college he works for regarding his boss. Supposedly a handful of former employees cited him during their exit interviews. My friend has complained about this guy for 2 years, but never did anything about it, so it's good to see Human Resources actually doing their job.

Arrrgh. Why do people like that ever get hired as managers? This is why I want to work in middle management, I could do it 5 times better than half of the people I've met. No drama! No slacking!

Yeah, it has to be an across-the-board effort by ALL companies at ALL levels. Workers have been "going postal" for generations, but it seemed to reach epidemic levels in the last several years. Until recently, the blame was placed squarely on the disgruntled worker, but it appears now (FINALLY) that more light is being shed on the environment in which this person worked. I believe the current work environment, where 1 person is required to do the work of 3 or more people is finally taking its toll.

The schools seem to be doing a better job of controlling the problem. If companies do nothing though, it's just delaying the inevatable, where an individual is thrown to the wolves when they get their first job out of school. Nothing like starting a career on a bad note and leaving a scar for life!

I wonder how many unemployed people ultimately became that way as a result of bullying, thinking if they just go away quietly and don't let the door hit them on the way out, they'll have a better chance getting another job, than if they try to stand up to their former bully, er, employer?