MILWAUKEE – A postal worker was shot and killed in Milwaukee while delivering mail on Friday. The shooting took place on the north side near 65th and Lancaster around 6 p.m., according to reports.
Law enforcement authorities did not name the victim, but said the employee is a 44-year-old male who worked for 18 years as a letter carrier with the U.S. Postal Service. After being shot he was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police, FOX 6 Milwaukee reported.
“That’s the most devastating part – like, we all get up every day to go to work to provide for our families,” neighbor Jeff Brown said to the news outlet. “Is it really that bad that we have to look over our shoulders to go provide for our families?”
Police said it’s unclear what led up to the shooting, but the homicide is under active investigation. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the FBI are assisting Milwaukee police on the case.
As civility has seemingly devolved in the past few years, mail carriers have increasingly been the victims of wrath in some neighborhoods, including a postal worker who was murdered in Indianapolis.
Law Officer has covered the following stories highlighting the danger that has beset USPS employees for simply delivering the mail:
- Postal Service halts deliveries to California neighborhood after repeated attacks on mail carriers
- Postal service mail carriers held at gunpoint by armed robbers six times in two day period in D.C. metro area
- USPS reports rise in armed robberies of mail carriers
- Postal worker mugged by women reportedly looking to steal stimulus checks
- Man angry over mail delivery pleads guilty to murdering postal worker
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson released a statement hours after the “disturbing” crime occurred.
“The shooting death of a Milwaukee postal worker is alarming. My thoughts are with the victim’s family and colleagues,” Johnson said. “The postal worker in this homicide was a public servant, which makes this crime even more disturbing. Criminals responsible for death and harm in our city must be held accountable. To accomplish that, anyone with information about this crime, or other serious crime in Milwaukee, should step forward.”
As of late Friday night, law enforcement authorities said no one is in custody as they try to develop leads that will bring them to a suspect, FOX reported.
“The Milwaukee Police Department sends our sincere condolences to the victim’s family and to the USPS for the loss of their member,” the department said in a news release.
Authorities are asking anyone with information on the homicide to call MPD at 414-935-7360. Anonymous tips can be called into Crime Stoppers at 414-224-TIPS or through the P3 tips app.
