Workers at a Maryland convenience store allege their employment status is in limbo after some of them voiced concerns over what they say is a lack of security.
Many employees of a Royal Farms on Donnell Drive in District Heights are upset and frustrated over recent violent incidents and robberies. After holding a walkout Sunday to demand safer working conditions, the employees allegedly received mixed messages over whether they had been fired.
Surveillance video appears to shows the moment a disgruntled customer chased a Royal Farms employee in the parking lot before firing a gun early Saturday morning. Prince George’s County police said they are still on the lookout for the suspected shooter.
“Nothing’s pretty much happening,” said one employee, who remained anonymous for fear of retaliation. “We’re just unsafe. We don’t feel secure in there.”
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She said she’s fed up.
On Sunday, a group of employees protested what they call a lack of security by locking up the store and refusing to work.
“The store leader told us we were fired,” the employee said. “We asked her, why were we fired? She said because of what we did as far as walking out and abandoning our jobs.”
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But she claims she later received a message from a district manager saying they would still be employed if they showed up for their next scheduled shift.
Employees allegedly were told security would be provided starting Monday, but as of Monday afternoon, that didn’t appear to be the case. The employee said she hasn’t seen any sort of security, and there was no visible security guard inside. A store manager declined to comment on the situation.
“What are we supposed to do?” the employee asked. “How are we to survive? You’re threatening us with our jobs. A lot of us don’t have another source of income to depend on. This is the only income they have.”
Prince George’s County police said since the start of the year they’ve received 195 911 calls related to incidents at the store. Not all of those are calls to report crimes, but police specified they’ve responded to at least 11 thefts, one assault and one non-fatal shooting.
“I know for a fact for the past two, three months, there's been an altercation inside the store where an employee is actually in a physical fight with a customer,” said Barbara McClanahan, a legal guardian of an employee there.
She’s deeply concerned about the situations employees face.
Royal Farms sent a statement to News4 saying it’s dismayed by the incident in which an employee was shot at and said it is working with Prince George’s County police to identify the suspect.
The statement went on to say, “We value the safety and security of our employees and customers and have been assured by the leadership of the police that patrols and police presence will be increased. Royal Farms is working to gather statements from the employees that were present on Saturday and will of course share any relevant information with the authorities.”
The company did not comment on the employment status of those employees who voiced their concerns.
The employee who spoke to News4 said she’s willing to walk out on the job again if there is no security when she shows up for her shift Tuesday.
“If there is no security there, I am not coming in. I’m not,” she said. “As much as this is going to hurt me in my pockets as far as taking care of my family, if I don’t do this and set an example, it’s going to continue to happen with other employees after me.”
The Prince George’s County Police Department said it will increase patrols in the area and has been in communication with Royal Farms’ security division about the recent uptick in crime.
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