HAZEL PARK, Mich. (WXYZ) — A father of five lost his life Friday morning in a shooting outside of his workplace in Hazel Park.
Chana Berry is the mother of the victim, she told 7 Action News, "He didn’t deserve to die out here like this."
According to Berry, her son Rafael Scott was 27 years old and an engineer at the LG Energy Solution facility in Hazel Park for about two years.
Hazel Park police say Scott was in the LG Energy parking lot after getting into an altercation with a co-worker inside.
Police say they arrived on scene around 7:00 a.m. Friday and found the suspect inside the facility with security.
The suspect surrendered willingly and is now in police custody.
In a statement LG Energy Solution told 7 Action News:
“On October 21 around 7 a.m., an incident occurred outside of our LG Energy Solution Michigan facility in Hazel Park, involving two staffing agency workers. A fatal shooting occurred in the parking lot and the suspect is in custody. Authorities were immediately called and operations were stopped. We are cooperating with the Hazel Park Police Department with their investigation. Our thoughts are with the victim’s family during this difficult time.”
However, according to Barry, her son's body was out in public view for hours throughout the morning while the facility operated normally.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 392 U.S. workers were workplace homicide victims in 2020.
In August, a fight between two co-workers at a General Motors Orion Township assembly plant resulted in one of the men being beaten to death.
Hazel Park Chief of Police, Brian Buchholz said, "I understand the road rage and all the violence that goes on, take a moment and think about what’s going on before you act."
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2020 81% of workplace violence victims were men.
44% were aged 25 to 44.
28% were black.
Chana Berry describes her son as matching each of those statistics.
"Now all of us are gonna hurt, we hurtin' now, we all gonna suffer because of this," said Berry.
