On October 1, 2026, an altercation at a United Rentals facility in Manassas, Virginia, ended with a worker shooting three coworkers. Two died. Police say he announced that “three people are going to die” before he fired, according to ABC7 Chicago.
Chicago employers have seen this up close. In February 2019, an employee at the Henry Pratt Company in Aurora opened fire during his termination meeting. Five coworkers were killed and five police officers were shot. He had threatened violence if he was ever fired, and coworkers had dismissed it as talk (details).
Most firings end quietly. But the dangerous ones rarely come out of nowhere, and the employers who get through them safely are the ones who planned for the worst.
When a firing is high-risk
Risk goes up when the person has made threats, has access to weapons or critical systems, is being removed for violence or theft, or when a layoff or strike already has the workplace on edge. If a manager feels uneasy, treat it as high-risk.
For most office terminations, plainclothes is the right call.
Have a termination coming up that worries you? Contact Valle Services or call 630-212-8938 for a free, confidential assessment, 24/7. Learn more about our employee termination security.
