Inside the Tragic Suicide at an Amazon Warehouse

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An Amazon worker walked out of his in a single day shift at a Massachusetts warehouse this month and shot himself exterior the constructing, authorities informed The Each day Beast.

The heartbreaking incident occurred on Friday, Aug. 19, after the 23-year-old worker left work early on the e-commerce big’s Norwood supply station. In line with the Norfolk District Lawyer’s Workplace, the person drove away from the ability however a short while later returned to the parking zone, the place he was discovered shot someday earlier than 8:15 a.m.

The worker handed away at a hospital the following morning, and the DA’s Workplace stated he seems to have died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound and {that a} Glock pistol was recovered on the scene.

David Traub, a spokesman for the DA’s workplace, which routinely investigates unattended deaths within the small city, stated that investigators don’t suspect foul play within the man’s loss of life, however that the case received’t be closed till an post-mortem report is full. (A spokesman for the Workplace of the Chief Medical Examiner stated the case remains to be pending.)

“There was video footage out there for legislation enforcement to assessment,” Traub informed The Each day Beast. “There isn’t any perception that anybody else was concerned on this.”

The employee, recognized as Yvens Jean, had been with the Amazon facility often known as DCB4 since July. After police had been known as to the warehouse, Jean was transported to a Brockton hospital, then medevacked to a medical heart in Boston, the place he died.

“We’re really saddened by this incident and our ideas are with everybody impacted,” Amazon spokesperson Steve Kelly informed The Each day Beast. “We’re cooperating with legislation enforcement as they examine and can defer any related inquiries to them for now.”

It’s unclear whether or not Jean ever introduced a gun into the constructing. Firearms are prohibited on the e-tailer’s warehouses, and signage all through the Norwood facility communicates this ban.

One Amazon driver, who’s employed by means of the corporate’s Supply Service Associate program, informed The Each day Beast that they’re involved somebody may deliver weapons onto the property, particularly as a result of the warehouse lacks metallic detectors. They solely discovered about Jean’s loss of life by means of a coworker, after asking about an sudden textual content message ordering all drivers to return to work on Saturday. “It’s somewhat uneasy feeling that there’s the opportunity of any person toting round a gun for no good purpose,” the particular person stated.

“It may be a tense and thankless job,” the motive force added of the Amazon warehouse. “Not understanding the man who did that to himself, I can solely think about he couldn’t deal with the strain or was having some issues at dwelling. However they [Amazon] work very exhausting to maintain it from us. Faux like all the things’s superb right here. Nothing to see right here.”

Amazon informed The Each day Beast that Jean labored for the corporate for six weeks. After his loss of life, the corporate added, administration notified staff {that a} tragedy occurred, counseling could be out there, and the location could be closed for the day. Workers had been additionally compensated for the hours they misplaced on Friday, Amazon stated.

The incident appears to have jarred some warehouse employees who had been despatched dwelling early that day. In a since-deleted Reddit put up, one particular person wrote, “Confirmed as much as work this morning and it was a literal crime scene.”

“Tons of cops. Had us wait out collectively within the parking zone. No clue what was happening. Administration got here out and despatched us dwelling after some time. Paid half day. Allegedly an Amazon worker took their very own life within the warehouse. FFS,” added the worker, who couldn’t be reached by press time.

The particular person commented that it was “scary to suppose somebody shot a gun in there” and continued, “Administration isn’t giving any particulars and it hasn’t been on the information or something so no statements from the police.”

They later amended the put up with an replace: “Amazon administration had a arise w us this morning. The one that shot themself is definitely alive and within the hospital.”

The 162,000-square-foot Norwood facility opened in early 2021. Final August, one former worker made headlines for allegedly stealing a supply van and main cops on an hour-long chase by means of a number of communities. Police stated the 23-year-old suspect confirmed as much as his outdated job and argued with a supervisor earlier than taking off with the car.

In the meantime, deaths on Amazon properties are below elevated scrutiny, as the corporate faces strain from federal investigators over office accidents and alleged security hazards.

For years, unions and labor activists have argued the fast-paced and bodily repetitive working circumstances, lengthy hours, and worker quotas at Amazon warehouses had been resulting in deaths, accidents, and psychological well being crises.

This month, the Occupational Well being and Security Administration (OSHA) stated it was investigating the circumstances of three Amazon staff who died in New Jersey amenities this summer time.

As The Each day Beast revealed, a type of staff was Rafael Reynaldo Mota Frias, a dad from the Dominican Republic who had a deadly coronary heart assault throughout Amazon’s Prime Day occasion. Coworkers feared Frias was overworked and overheated when he collapsed contained in the Carteret warehouse, which on the time lacked air-con.

Amazon, nonetheless, stated it carried out its personal investigation and located that Frias’ loss of life was unrelated to his job however probably brought on by a “private medical situation.”