U.S. U.S. Postal Inspector Susan Link stated that the shooting at East Lamar Carrier Annex, a prominent Memphis neighborhood, left three postal workers dead. Lisa-Anne Culp, a spokeswoman for the FBI, stated that the shooting was committed by a third postal worker who then shot herself.
Link and Culp did not release any motives or identities at a short news conference Tuesday afternoon.
The shooting took place at the Orange Mound neighborhood’s post office, southeast of Memphis. Only employees can use the carrier annex.
After the shooting, police blocked the street leading to the complex. The FBI and U.S. The investigation was initiated by the Postal Inspection Service as well as other federal authorities. Witnesses to the police activity spoke near an intersection convenience store. Officers had placed yellow barricades and crime scene tape along the streets nearby. As they passed reporters and police, some cars slowed down.
The scene was cleared of a white car with four doors. However, it was not immediately clear to whom it belonged.
USPS released a statement saying that the Postal Service was saddened by the Memphis events. Our thoughts and prayers are with the loved ones, friends, and coworkers affected. In the coming days, the Postal Service will provide resources for all East Lamar Carrier Annex employees.
This violence comes after other shootings that took place in the Memphis region in recent weeks. According to investigators, the franchise owner of a restaurant that serves sushi in a Kroger grocery shop in Collierville shot and killed one person before wounding 14 others. He then committed suicide on Sept. 23. A Memphis teenager was critically injured in a shooting incident a week later. Police arrested a second suspect.
U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen of Memphis, a Democrat, described the Memphis post office as “the latest location for gun violence” within the Memphis region.
Cohen released a statement saying that the shooting at Orange Mound’s postal facility was yet another reason why Cohen is concerned about how many guns are being out there and are in possession of people who can’t control their anger. “I offer my deep condolences for all the victims of this horrible event.”
Tuesday’s shooting comes eleven years after another West Tennessee post office shooting. Two mail workers were shot and killed in a robbery at Henning’s rural post office, about 50 miles (80 km) north of Memphis. The post office was named after Judy Spray and Paula Robinson, who were both killed in the robbery.