Umpqua Community College instructor becomes Oregon's 12th workplace homicide victim since 2011

Correction: Due to a reporting error, the number of Oregon workplace homicides in 2011 was misstated. There were three, not two.

Thursday's rampage in Roseburg again thrust campus shootings into the national spotlight while obscuring a grim reality: the fatal shooting of a community college instructor was Oregon's second workplace homicide this year and the 12th since 2011.

Three of those deaths involved police officers. The other nine took the lives of blue, white and pink collar workers, including two security guards, a convenience store clerk, an apartment manager and a motel maid, state records show.

Six men and three women were slain, with the victims ranging from 19 to 55 years old, according to data compiled by the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Because the numbers are so small - a dozen homicides in not quite five years - it's difficult to draw conclusions, let alone point to any trend, said Michael Wood, the agency's administrator.

Four of the homicides came in 2014, one in 2013, two in 2012 and three in 2011. Nine people were shot, the other three fatally stabbed.

"If you look at the facts of those cases and tried to connect the dots between them, it's really challenging to do that," Wood said. He characterized last year's four slayings as an anomaly.

Nationally, workplace homicides have averaged about 437 a year since 2011, falling from 468 that year to just over 400 in 2013 and 2014, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

While police and security work come with inherent risks confronting criminals or mentally ill people, other occupations do not typically place people in harm's way, Wood said.

That was certainly the case in the death of 67-year-old Lawrence Levine, an assistant professor at Umpqua Community College who was teaching a writing class Thursday when he was among those gunned down in a spasm of random violence.

Levine, like so many other Oregonians slain at work, had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The same could be said for the three women who were attacked by strangers while working at a Cedar Mill apartment complex, at a Roseburg convenience store and a Pendleton motel. All died from stab wounds.

Such acts of random criminal violence, often targeting cops, cab drivers and late-night clerks, typically spring to mind when one thinks of workplace homicides, Wood said. But over the years, Oregonians also die from three other types of workplace violence, he said.

  • Domestic violence and personal relationships gone bad, typified by an angry ex-spouse or boyfriend.
  • Employee on employee, often arising from layoffs, demotions or perceived slights.
  • Hostility arising from a worker's job duties, such as a social worker or government employee with authority over custodial rights or benefits.

After any workplace death, including homicide, state safety inspectors go in behind law enforcement to conduct their own investigation of what have might led to the death, including an assessment of what the employer knew or should have known in terms of addressing safety risks, Wood said.

In Levine's case, the investigation almost certainly will be complicated by his killer's motivation and the fact the professor's death came as part of a mass shooting, Wood said.

"While we will take a look, historically this (kind of) situation generally hasn't resulted in violations and citations against an employer," Wood said.

Oregon workplace homicides since 2011:

Lawrence Levine, 67

Where: Roseburg

When: Oct. 1, 2015

What: Levine, an assistant professor, was killed in his classroom during a mass shooting at Umpqua Community College.

Status: The 26-year-old gunman died during a shootout with police.

Shawn T. Newell, 39

Where: Springfield

When: July 3, 2015

What: Newell, manager of an apartment complex, was shot to death in a murder-suicide by an elderly tenant who was about to be evicted.

Status: Ronald F. Cottle, 71, barricaded himself in his apartment after shooting Newell, then shot himself during a standoff with SWAT members.

Grady Waxenfelter, 47

Where: Damascus

When: Feb. 6, 2014

What: Waxenfelter, an unarmed Clackamas County weighmaster, was shot by an ex-convict whose truck he had pulled over for an inspection.

Status: Dirck Morgan White, charged in Waxenfelter's death, was critically wounded in a shootout with Los Angeles police late last year after months on the run. 

Emery Connor, 42

Where: Klamath Falls

When: April 17, 2014

What: Connor, a transportation supervisor, was shot to death by a fellow employee at the rail yard where both worked.

Status: James Forshee II, 58, was charged with his co-worker's murder.

Nicole Laube, 29

Where: Cedar Mill

When: Aug. 19, 2014

What: Laube, a property leasing agent, was fatally stabbed by a teenager while hanging lease renewal fliers in the apartment complex where she worked.

Status: Jaime Tinoco, 17, has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder in her death.

Lori Rothrock, 38

Where: Roseburg

When: Sept. 16, 2014

What: Rothrock was fatally stabbed and beaten by a man who lived near the convenience store where she worked as a cashier.

Status: John Flannigan, 27, has pleaded not guilty to her murder and is due to go on trial in January 2016.

Robert Libke, 41

Where: Oregon City

When: Nov. 3, 2013

What: Libke, 41, a veteran Oregon City police reserve officer, was shot in the head while investigating a report of a gunman lurking around a house fire. He died in the hospital the next day. Libke was the first Oregon City police officer killed in the line of duty since 1906.

Status: During the ensuing standoff, the 88-year-old shooter, Lawrence Cambra, was shot by a Clackamas County Sheriff's SWAT team member. He then shot himself with a handgun.

Amyjane Brandhagen, 19

Where: Pendleton

When: Aug. 14, 2012

What: Brandhagen, a motel maid, was fatally stabbed by a Marine Corps deserter who also tried to beat a woman to death on a jogging path.

Status: Lukah Probzeb Chang, 23, pleaded guilty to murder and attempted murder in Umatilla County Circuit Court in Pendleton and was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 25 years, plus 10 more years for the attempted murder charge.

Robert Greene, 30

Where: Portland

When: Feb. 19, 2012

What: Greene, who had worked less than two weeks as a security guard at a bowling alley, was shot as he and others monitored an argument among a handful of people outside the business.

Status: Police suspect the shooting was gang-related but said Greene was an innocent victim. The case remains unsolved.

Chris Kilcullen, 43

Where: Eugene

When: April 11, 2011

What: Kilcullen was shot to death by a mentally ill woman during a traffic stop. Kilcullen was the first Eugene police officer killed in the line of duty since 1934.

Status: Cheryl D. Kidd, 56, was charged with aggravated murder but was found mentally unfit for trial and remains in a mental health care facility.

Ralph Painter, 55

Where: Rainier

When: Jan. 5, 2011

What: Painter, the Rainier police chief, died from a single gunshot wound to the head as he struggled with a 21-year-old man who was heaving suspiciously at a car stereo store.

Status: The suspect, Daniel Butts, was charged with aggravated murder and has yet to stand trial pending a decision on whether he is mentally competent to assist his lawyers.

Ruben Mata, 32

Where: Portland

When: Jan. 1, 2011

What: Mata, a security guard who was filling in for a friend, was fatally wounded in an early morning New Year's shooting outside a downtown Portland club following a disturbance inside.

Status: Kevin Charles Moffett, 33, pleaded no contest to first-degree manslaughter and agreed to an 11-year sentence.

Sources: Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration, The Oregonian/OregonLive and other news media reports.

-- George Rede

grede@oregonian.com
503-294-4004
@georgerede

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