Johnnie Lee Fulton was quiet, with nothing but a slight smile, as he was escorted from the Gulfport Police Department Friday afternoon.

Fulton, 55, is charged with firing shots inside Warren Paving, a Gulfport construction company, just before 6 Friday morning. Police said he was an employee, who had recently been fired.

No one was hurt, but the shooting brings to the surface concerns about violence at the workplace.

"It's something to consider as an imminent threat, and something to be aware of and to watch out for," said Ted Wooten, intake coordinator at Merit Health Gulf Oaks in Biloxi.

He said staying aware of your surroundings and of others can be key in preventing workplace violence.

"You want to always kind of have a feel of people around you's``` persona. Are they having frequent outbursts? Do they have a shorter temper than usual?" he said.

He said the best policy is a zero-tolerance policy and to take every threat seriously.

"It should be reported, and that should be your supervisor's main goal to sort out whether this was a serious threat or whether this was inappropriate joking in the workplace."

And for employers, making it easy for employees to report such threats is just as important.

"Always have an open-door policy to have employees be able to voice their concerns and opinions about certain situations about what they've observed," Wooten said, "because they're going to be the ones ultimately at the front line that observes any kind of erratic behaviors that they need to report."

Wooten said though workplace violence can be a serious situation, there's no need to panic.

"Just being aware of your surroundings and being vigilant can go a long ways without having to overreact and be paranoid about the situation," he said.

Professionals remind people that those with mental illnesses are rarely the perpetrators of violence, but most times, the victims.

He advises those who have been victims of workplace victims to seek out the various resources for mental health available on the coast.

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