Police say dispute at Detroit factory led to fatal shooting; investigation ongoing

DETROIT — A late-night dispute at a Detroit factory escalated into a fatal shooting Sunday, authorities said, the latest instance of workplace violence in the U.S. this year.

The fatal shooting occurred at around 11:30 p.m. Sunday on the city's west side, according to the Detroit Police Department. Police told the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, that it was investigating the incident, in which two men exchanged gunfire during a dispute.

Police did not provide further details on the altercation or shooting. Detroit Manufacturing Systems identified the victim as an employee of the company.

"We are saddened and shocked by what happened to Harmond Ulmer at our Detroit facility on the evening of October 6, and we extend our deepest sympathies to his family and loved ones," the company said in a statement. "The safety and security of our employees is our top priority. We are fully cooperating with local authorities to provide all necessary information regarding this isolated incident that occurred between Mr. Ulmer and an employee of a third-party security company."

WJBK-TV and 7 News Detroit reported that the mother of the victim, Lacriesa Banks, said that a security guard shot her son after a dispute over a food delivery. Banks said her son, who was 31 years old and had worked at Detroit Manufacturing Systems for the past two years, was hungry and asked a friend to bring him some food during his break.

But after Ulmer's friend arrived at the facility's front gate, a security guard would not let him in, according to Banks. Ulmer then drove to the gate, and that’s when the security guard and Ulmer got into a dispute that ended in gunfire.

Ulmer was killed in the incident, the television stations reported, and the security guard was taken into police custody.

'A heavy toll':Gun violence leaves 3 towns in the South reeling

Assault is the fifth leading cause of workplace deaths in the U.S.

The fatal shooting is the latest incident of gun violence in Detroit and nationwide. Public health officials, including U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, have declared gun violence in America a public health crisis.

In a September report from the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, researchers noted that gun violence is a "preventable public health tragedy." According to the report, more than 48,000 people across the country died from gun violence in 2022 — marking an average of one death every 11 minutes. 

Several high-profile workplace-related shootings have occurred in the U.S. in recent years. In May, a former employee shot five people, killing two, at a linen company outside of Philadelphia.

In January 2023, seven people were killed in two related shootings in Half Moon Bay, California, in what authorities described as an "instance of workplace violence." In another incident in April 2023, five people were killed and eight others injured in a shooting at a bank in Louisville, Kentucky.

In June 2022, three people were killed and three others injured — including the gunman — at a Maryland manufacturing facility. About five months later, a gunman, who a witness said was targeting co-workers, killed six people at a Walmart in Virginia.

Assault is the fifth-leading cause of workplace deaths, according to the National Safety Council. Between 2021 and 2022, the public service organization said the assaults caused over 57,600 injuries. In 2022, there were 525 fatalities reported due to assaults.

"Many American workers report having been victims of workplace violence each year," the Occupational Safety and Health Administration states on its website. "Unfortunately, many more cases go unreported."

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention both have noted that workplace violence can cause long-term effects, including physical and psychological.

After Sunday's incident at Detroit Manufacturing Systems' facility, Ulmer's co-worker, Tamia Banks, told 7 News Detroit that "everybody in the plant is scared. Nobody wanted to come back to work today."

Detroit factory incident comes after other deadly shootings in the city

Sunday's incident also follows other recent shootings in metro Detroit. On Sept. 15, a gunfight occurred during a Detroit Lions tailgate in which Jalen Welch, 25, and Rayshawn Bryant, 40, both of Detroit, were killed at Eastern Market.

Earlier that month, another deadly shooting happened outside the Michigan State Fair in Novi, a northwestern suburb of Detroit.

Police said the shooting stemmed from an argument. Shots rang out from a parking lot southwest of the fair, sending visitors scrambling and killing a 14-year-old boy and wounding a second 14-year-old. 

Contributing: Violet Ikonomova and Darcie Moran, Detroit Free Press