WASHINGTON D.C. – Mail carriers were victimized by armed robbery suspects on six occasions in Washington D.C. and Maryland over a two-day period, according to U.S. Postal Service officials.
“This alarming trend needs to stop,” U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) spokesman Michael Martel said at a press conference. “It is a sad state of things when it comes down to robberies against someone that provides an essential service to our communities. But it’s happening here, and it’s got to end.”
Martel did not go into much detail, but said the suspects are taking personal property as well as “a wide variety of items that the postal service provides their carriers to do their jobs on a daily basis.”
Mail has not been been taken during the crimes, Martel said, according to Fox News.
U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) spokesman Michael Martel showed an image at a press conference of a black Mercedes believed to be the suspect vehicle in an armed robbery on a mail carrier in Northwest Washington, D.C. (U.S. Postal Inspection Service)
Firearms were used to threaten and coerce victims in all six heists that occurred in the D.C. metro area on Thursday and Friday. In two of those cases, the carriers were also physically battered by being struck in the face or head, although none required hospitalization, Martel said.
The postal service announced a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to an arrest, identification and prosecution of suspects involved in the robberies.
The amount is “substantial and reflects the commitment of the Postal Inspection Service to postal service letter carriers making their rounds for us,” Martel said.
Anyone with information is asked to call postal inspectors at 877-876-2455.
