Terminal Shooting Leaves 2 Dead

A disgruntled maintenance worker at a Watkins Motor Lines terminal shot and killed a supervisor and then took his own life.

The July 30 killing came just a day after a stock trader killed his wife and two children and shot nine people to death at two brokerage firms in Atlanta before turning the gun on himself.

While government statistics indicate the problem is not as widespread as it may seem, many trucking companies see the potential for workplace violence as a problem they cannot afford to ignore.

George Edward Moore entered a terminal office with a handgun and killed Steven Simpson, operations manager at the Watkins facility in Charlotte, N.C. He then fatally shot himself, according to police.

Police said the shooting was obviously not random, but they did not offer a motive.

Moore reportedly told other workers to move away from the supervisor before he fired.

Several employees told police that Moore did not get along with Simpson, a 24-year veteran of the company. Watkins is based in Lakeland, Fla.

Derrick Hooker, who works on the loading docks, said he spoke with Moore the morning of the shooting.

“He told me the supervisor was messing with him,” Hooker said.

The news media attention given to recent on-the-job killings masks the fact that government data show homicides at work are declining.

For the full story, see the August 9 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.