New photos capture 1 of 2 brazen armed robberies of USPS Chicago mail carriers
Postal Inspection Service offering $50K for information that could lead to arrest
CHICAGO (WLS) -- New photos show one of two brazen armed robberies of Chicago mail carriers that took place just minutes apart Tuesday.
A letter was carrier making rounds in the 1800-block of North Sawyer Avenue in Logan Square on Tuesday, before the U.S. Postal Inspection Service said the worker was robbed at gunpoint about 3:45 p.m. The newly released photos captured that confrontation.
"You just have to be aware of your surroundings at all times. You just never know," Logan Square resident Carolyn Mitchell said. "You just never know if it'll be you. If they attack the mail carriers, I walk down this street, somebody could attack me."
Minutes before the attack, police said another postal worker was robbed and shot in the leg in the 3200-block of North Kildare Avenue in the Kilbourn Park neighborhood.
"He was like speeding through the alley, and then the second time he came around was when he shot the guy, and then all our neighbors started running," said Ali Sanchez, who lives steps away from where the shooting happened. She said she saw someone in a white Kia circling the block just before she heard a gunshot.
Police said the 52-year-old man was taken to a hospital in serious to critical condition.
The National Association of Letter Carriers - Branch 11 is responding to the attacks.
"I represent over 5,000 letter carriers, about 3,800 active that's out there on the street every day to deliver the mail, and they want to know that they are protected, and they have to be protected," said Elise Foster, with the National Association of Letter Carriers - Branch 11,
Police said the suspects are men, and were seen driving a white Kia at both scenes.
The Kia in question was recovered by law enforcement, the USPIS said Wednesday afternoon. It's being analyzed for evidence.
"Ultimately, someone knows something, and we'll get to the bottom of it one way or another," U.S. Postal Inspector Spencer Block said.
The president of the Letter Carriers in Chicago had been in contact with the injured carrier.
"He's in good spirits; he's upbeat. He's doing well and recovering," Foster said.
No one was in custody Wednesday.
U.S. Postal Inspectors are investigating another armed robbery of a letter carrier that took place Wednesday at 10:45 a.m. in Berwyn. It happened along Home Avenue near 15th Street.
They were talking to area residents, asking for any video of the incident.
Police said two men in a silver Toyota Highlander, with an Illinois license plate CS86136, pulled up near the mail carrier.
One man got out and put a gun to the postal worker's head.
Then he grabbed the mail bag and got back into the SUV, and the two suspects drove away.
One male suspect was described as being in his early 20s, about 6-feet tall, thin and wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, black pants, white shoes and a white surgical mask.
Another male suspect was described as wearing a dark-colored hooded shirt.
Foster said all of these incidents are impacting members, who are federal employees, all over the Chicago area.
"Attack on one is an attack on all, and that is for real. We don't know the next person who could be assaulted; so you mess with one, you mess with all of us," she said.
Branch 11 reports nearly 90 letter carriers have been assaulted and robbed in the last 12 months.
Foster said members are scared, and, if a carrier feels threatened or notices someone suspicious, that could impact delivery of mail.
There is a $50,000 reward for information that could lead to an arrest. Call the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at 1-877-876-2455.
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