Office receive bomb, gun threat

Tuba City social services client upset by order to undergo treatment

By Natasha Kaye Johnson, Diné Bureau

WINDOW ROCK — A Tuba City social services client threatened on Friday afternoon that he would blow up the office.

“He said he knew what all the chemicals were to put together a bomb,” said Cora Maxx-Phillips, Division Director for Social Services, who was informed by the staff in Tuba City about the incident. The client also threatened that he was going to return with a gun, with intentions of using it on the staff.

Maxx-Phillips said she received notice about the threat on Friday around 5 p.m. According to Maxx-Phillips, the client is a Tonalea-area male, who has children that receive services.

“He was very upset because he was told to get treatment,” said Maxx-Phillips. “I’m sure that there are other factors that are involved.”

Maxx-Phillips said that the man did not have a weapon and could not confirm if the client was intoxicated or under the influence of drugs.

Immediately following the threat, staff notified the police. By then the suspect had left, and the police have yet to find him.

“He’s still out there loose,” said Maxx-Phillips. The police are currently out there actively looking for that client.”

While threats have occurred at the social service offices in the past, none have been as serious.

“There’s threats here and there, but they’re usually minor and we try to get it settled,” said Maxx-Phillips. “This is one of the major ones that have come up in this point in time.”

Maxx-Phillips said that the social worker who received threats from the client has been put on leave, since the incident has been traumatic.

“It does impose a lot of emotional trauma,” said Maxx-Phillips. “It really evokes fear in employees.”

Another social worker also attempted suicide due to the pressures and demands of the job.

“She is on medical leave,” said Maxx-Phillips.

Yesterday, officials met regarding how they can begin to address the issue of violence in the workplace.

“My interest is how can we get better and adequate protection for the staff,” said Maxx-Phillips. A main concern was workplace violence in areas like social work and police enforcement.

“These are the people that are the front line workers,” said Maxx-Phillips. Because of the incident, officials have begun to raise questions about violence in the workplace.

“This is a real wake-up call for everybody,” she said. “We really need to come together and work on a work force violence plan.”

According to statistics provided by Work Violence Solutions, 1 in 4 employees will become the victims of workplace violence, and 20 workers are murdered each week.