Man kills colleague because she took 'long breaks' at work. HR had intervened before crime

The woman was rushed to the hospital but did not survive. (Representational)

A horrific workplace shooting in Texas, US, has left a 51-year-old woman dead, with authorities linking the tragedy to the suspect’s obsessive fixation and frustration over her "unauthorised breaks." The accused, Travis Merrill, allegedly ambushed and fatally shot his coworker, Tamhara Collazo, upon her return from lunch at their Lewisville workplace, located about 48km north of Dallas.

Merrill, a colleague of Collazo at Allegiance Trucks, reportedly tracked her every move at work, fixating on the breaks she took and increasingly seething over her perceived avoidance. An affidavit filed by the police, and obtained by local station FOX 4 Dallas, indicates that Merrill followed Collazo to her cubicle, opening fire and shooting her multiple times. She was rushed to a nearby hospital but died of her injuries.

“[Merrill] was obsessed with Collazo and began getting ever increasingly angry by her taking what he considered to be unauthorised long breaks during work hours, as well as not paying any attention to him,” reads the court document. Authorities revealed that Merrill kept records of Collazo’s workday routines, particularly noting the days and duration of her breaks, a fixation that grew into an overwhelming anger.

The growing concern had not gone unnoticed by Collazo, who complained to the company’s human resources department. Following her report, Merrill was required to undergo counselling before he returned to work. However, his frustration only grew as Collazo reportedly distanced herself from him after the HR intervention.

In the affidavit, Merrill allegedly told police that he acquired firearms with the intention of bringing them to work and eventually using them on Collazo to "make her feel pain."

According to Merrill, he meticulously planned the attack to occur in front of colleagues, allegedly believing that she “caused him pain, and he wanted her to feel pain.” His confession pointed to a premeditated act fuelled by a mixture of resentment and his unreciprocated obsession.

Allegiance Trucks has since released a statement, seen by Fox News, expressing shock and grief, stating, “The company is providing support to the victim’s family and the rest of our employees who, thankfully, were unharmed, and we have closed our Lewisville office indefinitely.” The statement also added, “We are working closely with law enforcement during their ongoing investigation and ask for the community’s support as our company has unfortunately joined the growing national community of workplaces affected by gun violence.”