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An Amazon employee walked out of his overnight shift at a Massachusetts warehouse this month and shot himself outside the building, authorities told The Daily Beast.
The heartbreaking incident occurred on Friday, Aug. 19, after the 23-year-old employee left work early at the e-commerce giant’s Norwood delivery station. According to the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office, the man drove away from the facility but a short time later returned to the parking lot, where he was found shot sometime before 8:15 a.m.
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The employee passed away at a hospital the next morning, and the DA’s Office said he appears to have died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound and that a Glock pistol was recovered at the scene.
David Traub, a spokesman for the DA’s office, which routinely investigates unattended deaths in the small town, said that investigators don’t suspect foul play in the man’s death, but that the case won’t be closed until an autopsy report is complete. (A spokesman for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said the case is still pending.)
“There was video footage available for law enforcement to review,” Traub told The Daily Beast. “There is no belief that anyone else was involved in this.”
The worker, identified as Yvens Jean, had been with the Amazon facility known as DCB4 since July. After police were called to the warehouse, Jean was transported to a Brockton hospital, then medevacked to a medical center in Boston, where he died.
“We’re truly saddened by this incident and our thoughts are with everyone impacted,” Amazon spokesperson Steve Kelly told The Daily Beast. “We are cooperating with law enforcement as they investigate and will defer any relevant questions to them for now.”
It’s unclear whether Jean ever brought a gun into the building. Firearms are prohibited at the e-tailer’s warehouses, and signage throughout the Norwood facility communicates this ban.
One Amazon driver, who is employed through the company’s Delivery Service Partner program, told The Daily Beast that they’re concerned someone could bring guns onto the property, especially because the warehouse lacks metal detectors. They only learned about Jean’s death through a coworker, after asking about an unexpected text message ordering all drivers to return to work on Saturday. “It’s a little uneasy feeling that there is the possibility of somebody toting around a gun for no good reason,” the person said.
“It can be a stressful and thankless job,” the driver added of the Amazon warehouse. “Not knowing the guy who did that to himself, I can only imagine he couldn’t handle the pressure or was having some problems at home. But they [Amazon] work very hard to keep it from us. Pretend like everything’s fine here. Nothing to see here.”
Amazon told The Daily Beast that Jean worked for the company for six weeks. After his death, the company added, management notified employees that a tragedy occurred, counseling would be available, and the site would be closed for the day. Employees were also compensated for the hours they lost on Friday, Amazon said.
The incident seems to have jarred some warehouse workers who were sent home early that day. In a since-deleted Reddit post, one person wrote, “Showed up to work this morning and it was a literal crime scene.”
“Tons of cops. Had us wait out together in the parking lot. No clue what was going down. Management came out and sent us home after a while. Paid half day. Allegedly an Amazon employee took their own life in the warehouse. FFS,” added the employee, who could not be reached by press time.
The person commented that it was “scary to think someone shot a gun in there” and continued, “Management isn’t giving any details and it hasn’t been on the news or anything so no statements from the police.”
They later amended the post with an update: “Amazon management had a stand up w us this morning. The person who shot themself is actually alive and in the hospital.”
The 162,000-square-foot Norwood facility opened in early 2021. Last August, one former employee made headlines for allegedly stealing a delivery van and leading cops on an hour-long chase through several communities. Police said the 23-year-old suspect showed up to his old job and argued with a manager before taking off with the vehicle.
Meanwhile, deaths on Amazon properties are under increased scrutiny, as the company faces pressure from federal investigators over workplace injuries and alleged safety hazards.
For years, unions and labor activists have argued the fast-paced and physically repetitive working conditions, long hours, and employee quotas at Amazon warehouses were leading to deaths, injuries, and mental health crises.
This month, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) said it was investigating the circumstances of three Amazon employees who died in New Jersey facilities this summer.
As The Daily Beast revealed, one of those employees was Rafael Reynaldo Mota Frias, a dad from the Dominican Republic who had a fatal heart attack during Amazon’s Prime Day event. Coworkers feared Frias was overworked and overheated when he collapsed inside the Carteret warehouse, which at the time lacked air conditioning.
Amazon, however, said it conducted its own investigation and found that Frias’ death was unrelated to his job but likely caused by a “personal medical condition.”
