TAMPA, Fla. — It's been 40 years since a gunman opened fire at Tampa Fire Rescue headquarters killing two firefighters and injuring another.
That shooting by a disgruntled ex-employee is one of the earliest cases of work place violence in our community.
Tampa firefighter Issac Royal was 26 years old when he was shot and killed at Station 1.
What You Need To Know
- 40 years since a gunman opened fire at Tampa Fire Rescue headquarters killing two firefighters
- One of the earliest cases of work place violence in Tampa community
- Man accused of attacking 7 co-workers, killing 3 in Davenport
His younger brother Bobby says after 40 years he still struggles with losing his mentor and best friend through a senseless act of violence.
"Those two families [Warner and Royal], they will be forever entwined," Bobby said of his connection to the family of District Chief Franz Warner who was shot and killed along with his brother Isaac in August of 1981.
Their names are etched on a memorial at the station where it happned.
"Firefighting — you figure the perils are fire not fighting someone with a gun," said Bobby who was 16 when his brother died.
"Always pictured that he [Isaac] would be my older brother and we would grow old together," he adds.
He's still working on forgiving the man who is serving a life sentence for taking his brother's life.
"God hasn't gotten me to that point yet," said Bobby.
WORKPLACE VIOLENCE & WARNING SIGNS
Dr. Park Dietz is a forensic psychiatrist who studies workplace violence and consults Fortune 500 companies.
"I've never seen a case of workplace violence in 34 years in working this area that there weren't multiple signs before the attack," said Dr. Dietz.
Typically those who know the warning signs and threats are not sharing it with those who need to know, like management, according to the Psychiatrist.
Signs include :
- Changed behavior
- Passive-aggressive behavor
- Holding grudges
- Verbal threats
He says with the exception of homicides, violence at the job is vastly under-reported. Statistics are delayed as a result.
"Those come out a year or two late," said Dr. Dietz.
The Bureau of Labor Statitics reported in 2018, 453 people were workplace homicide victims.
It's a club Bobby Royal says no surviving family member wants to be a part of.
"It's hard to tell people you know how they feel when they've never experienced it. But, I've experience it," said Royal.
Over the years he says he has relied on his extended family within the Tampa Fire Department which kept his brother's memory alive.