SECURITY FILE 008 - THE LAUNDRY ROOM WAR
Security File 008 - The Laundry Room War
Location: Refugee Village
Shift: Day Shift
Incident Type: Serious Assault - Threat of Group Violence
Some fights start over serious disagreements.
Others start over something as simple as a washing machine.
That day, we received a CODE RED over the radio. For anyone unfamiliar with the terminology, a CODE RED meant fighting or aggression requiring an immediate security response.
We headed straight to the building.
When we arrived, we found a fight taking place in the laundry room. One man had been attacked by three others. He had reportedly been struck with a stick on the head, and he was bleeding heavily.
This was no longer a simple argument.
We moved in, separated the men and started getting control of the situation. The social workers arrived quickly as well, which was fortunate given how serious things were becoming.
We took the injured man to a room used by the social workers, while the three men accused of attacking him were moved to a different part of the building.
Once things had calmed down enough for us to understand what had happened, the explanation sounded almost ridiculous.
Someone had taken another resident's laundry out of a washing machine before the cycle had finished.
That was where the argument started.
Somewhere along the way, words had turned into violence. The man who had been alone was now injured, bleeding from his head after taking punches and being struck with a stick.
But the laundry room was only the beginning of the problem.
Two Sides, One Building
While we were dealing with the injured man, more residents started gathering outside.
At first, it was just a few people wanting to know what had happened.
Then more arrived.
And more.
The situation had another complication: both sides appeared to have connections to larger groups within the village. The injured man had influence among one group, while the men accused of attacking him were connected to another.
As the crowd grew, it became clear that this was no longer just about three men fighting one man.
Groups were forming outside, each watching the other.
The atmosphere changed quickly.
People were talking among themselves, asking questions and trying to establish exactly who had done what. The injured man's friends wanted answers. The others were watching to see how the situation would develop.
It felt as though two sides were gathering for something much bigger than the original incident.
We still had an injured resident to get to medical assistance.
When we brought him outside, we were surrounded by at least fifty men from his community. They wanted to know what had happened to him. Some were angry, and it was obvious that they were trying to decide whether retaliation was necessary.
We managed to get him into a golf cart and send him toward reception, where he could be examined by a doctor.
That was one immediate problem dealt with.
The larger one was still standing right in front of us.
One of the men told us that if security didn't punish the people responsible, they would take matters into their own hands.
That was a serious threat.
But there was something they needed to understand: security didn't decide the sanctions. Our responsibility was to respond to incidents, maintain safety and report what had happened. Disciplinary decisions belonged to the social workers.
We couldn't simply punish someone because a crowd demanded it.
"We're Ready for War"
We went back to speak with the three men accused of the assault.
We explained the situation to them. The other group was furious, people were gathering outside, and there was a real risk that the incident could escalate if everyone decided to settle the score themselves.
We urged them to tell the truth and cooperate with the process.
Their response wasn't exactly reassuring.
They said they were ready for war if it came to that.
At that point, it was clear that the original argument over laundry had become something much more dangerous.
My team's shift was approaching its end, but we couldn't simply ignore what was developing around us.
We warned both groups to stay alert and avoid further confrontation. Given the tension, we were concerned that things could escalate later, potentially after the social workers had finished their shifts.
Our security team continued monitoring the area.
Outside, we noticed smaller groups of roughly five to ten men gathering at different corners. They appeared to be watching the situation and keeping an eye on the other side.
It was difficult not to wonder what would happen once we left.
Would someone throw the first punch?
Would the groups start attacking each other?
Would the whole thing blow over once everyone had time to calm down?
We didn't know.
All we could do was continue monitoring the situation, communicate what we had observed and make sure the relevant people knew about the threats.
Fortunately, nothing happened during the remainder of our shift.
Eventually, I went home.
And just like that, I returned to my own life.
I ate, relaxed and carried on as normal.
The incident faded into the background, becoming another memory from another day at work.
A War Over Laundry
Looking back, what stands out isn't just the violence in the laundry room. It's how quickly a relatively small disagreement developed into a situation where dozens of people were preparing for the possibility of a larger fight.
A washing machine.
A disagreement over someone's clothes.
Three men attacking another man.
And suddenly, we were dealing with crowds, threats of retaliation and the possibility of a much bigger confrontation.
That's one of the realities of security work: you don't always know how far an incident will spread, or how many people will become involved.
Sometimes, the hardest part isn't stopping the original fight.
It's preventing everyone else from joining it.
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