Employees at a Beavercreek, Ohio, Walmart are not happy about returning to work on Black Friday, just days after a mass shooting at the store, WHIO reported.
A gunman opened fire inside a Walmart store Monday night, injuring four shoppers before taking his own life. The FBI said Wednesday that the incident may have been motivated, at least in part, by “racially or ethnically motivated violence” or ideology.
One employee anonymously told a local broadcaster that neither they nor their co-workers were ready to go back to work after the shocking incident, saying the company is putting the health of its employees ahead of the rest by reopening its stores. He said he feels that profits are a priority.
“Everyone I talk to either says ‘no,’ ‘I’m not ready,’ or ‘I wasn’t asked,'” the employee said. “For many, this is not what we want. We are not ready for it. We are being forced into it.”
The employee said she wished the store had remained closed through the weekend and said it was “too much, too soon” to ask employees to return to work so soon after the tragedy, especially during the biggest shopping trip of the year. That’s what he said on the day.
Shoppers told the outlet that while the tragedy was on their minds, they were treating it like any other Black Friday.
Walmart told the Messenger it made the decision to reopen on Friday.
It added that employees who are hesitant to return to work should contact store leadership “after the majority of our employees told us they wanted to resume serving customers as soon as possible.”
“Since Monday’s tragedy, we have remained focused on supporting the health of our employees,” the retailer said. “This includes providing counseling services to those seeking assistance.”
Updated at 3:53pm EST: This article has been updated to include a statement from Walmart provided to Messenger.