Disgruntled Worker Stabs Four Co-Workers To Death At Paris Police Headquarters
[guest post by Dana]
Horrible news from Paris:
A deaf civilian police worker who had recently converted to Islam was shot dead in Paris today after murdering four colleagues with a ceramic knife following a ‘dispute over working with female colleagues’.
Michael Harpon, 45, caused the bloodbath in the French capital’s historic Police Prefecture, next door to Notre Dame Cathedral.
Investigators have not ruled out a possible terrorist motivation for the Thursday afternoon attack, which left a woman and three men dead.
All were repeatedly stabbed by Harpon, who had worked in the IT department at the Prefecture since 2003, in the worst loss of French police lives in a single day since World War II.
The report goes on to say that because Harpon had refused to interact with women, he had been recently reprimanded by his female boss as a result. Harpon converted to Islam in 2018.
Moreover, Christophe Crépin, spokesman for the union France Police Policeman in Anger, told reporters that he had known Harpon:
I know this man. He worked in IT and he had long-running problems with his superior. He stabbed her first and then colleagues intervened and were stabbed as well. I am told he then got hold of a firearm.
Prayers for the families who have lost their loved ones today.
–Dana
There are always bound to be disputes, rivalries, and other problems in any workplace. That is to be expected. But how often to we hear about these situations of workplace violence and find out that the perpetrator has had “a long-standing dispute” or something similar? Why in the world aren’t these disputes resolved? If they guy is a hardline Islamist and can’t work in the proximity of females, it seems there are three questions to be answered: (1) is this guy worth keeping as an employee, (2) can we find a position for him that doesn’t entail him working with women, and (3) do we want to set this sort of precedent at our workplace? If the answer to any of these is “no” then by all means, show him the door.
But, oh yes, public employees are pretty much impossible to dismiss in Western Europe just as they are here, aren’t they?
JVW (54fd0b) — 10/3/2019 @ 1:47 pmInterestingly, this NYT report doesn’t include in their report the problems that Harpon was having with interacting with women, nor that he was reprimanded by his female supervisor, and, that she was the first one he attacked. All things considered, it sure seems relevant.
Dana (05f22b) — 10/3/2019 @ 1:49 pm1. JVW (54fd0b) — 10/3/2019 @ 1:47 pm
In certain countries in Western Europe, including France, even private employees are pretty difficult to dismiss.
Which is why so many young people don’t have permanent jobs. They are officially temporary.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dismissal_(employment)_in_France
Sammy Finkelman (00fff5) — 10/3/2019 @ 1:58 pmmeanwhile a public expression of one’s faith, in Israel, is grounds for ‘cancelling’ for demi lovato
narciso (d1f714) — 10/3/2019 @ 3:49 pmJVW: You asked three very politically incorrect questions. If a guy is a “hard line Islamist” then the left insist that any action taken against him is evil discrimination, and cannot be tolerated. But to find a position for him which does not have him working with women discriminates against women, and we can’t do that, either.
Remember: there is a hierarchy of Accredited Victim™ groups, and Muslims are currently at the top.
The realistic Dana (2c8a87) — 10/3/2019 @ 7:01 pmTriple strawman, very impressive.
Davethulhu (fe4242) — 10/3/2019 @ 7:20 pmSacre Blue! Time to ban the knives.
harkin (58d012) — 10/3/2019 @ 7:36 pmOpen carry could have prevented this massacre.
mg (8cbc69) — 10/4/2019 @ 3:25 amI would be tempted to ask if you forgot the \sarc, mg, but it’s a fair question to ask if French gendarmerie are similar to the British bobbies e.g. no holstered sidearm. Makes me wonder if the new riRight central European countries’ PDs are more like American counterparts in this regard.
urbanleftbehind (513935) — 10/4/2019 @ 4:38 amno/sarc. just common sense
mg (8cbc69) — 10/4/2019 @ 6:26 amI wonder if there’s similarities between this shooting and the Ft. Hood “workplace violence” incident? People who are proficient with firearms prohibited from carrying at a location where security did not live up to expectations. Although, the use of a ceramic knife indicates that the attacker came prepared to bypass a metal detector.
Russ from Winterset (f6666a) — 10/4/2019 @ 12:48 pmThank God my co-workers are gruntled.
rcocean (1a839e) — 10/5/2019 @ 8:44 amFrench gendarmes carry sidearms. They are a branch of the military, in fact.
In cities, the main police force is the Police Nationale, or Surete, who are also armed.
Dave (1bb933) — 10/5/2019 @ 9:00 amThe investigation has been handed off to counter-terrorism investigators:
Dana (05f22b) — 10/5/2019 @ 9:05 amThe Sûreté are also trained in a variety of advanced martial arts techniques, of course.
Dave (1bb933) — 10/5/2019 @ 9:36 am