Postal worker held at gunpoint in Detroit as mail carriers worry about growing trend

A mail carrier was doing her job last Tuesday in a familiar Detroit neighborhood, but what she didn't know was that thieves had their eyes on her.

At 2:21 p.m. that afternoon, a masked suspect held the mail carrier at gunpoint.

"Don't move! The key!" the suspect can be heard saying in the security footage.

The suspect demanded that the mail carrier give up the postal keys and then her phone before taking off in a black sedan.

"That's crazy," area resident DelShon Hall said.

Hall wasn't at home at the time of the incident, but he still can't believe it happened to his mail carrier.

"Seeing something like that, I got to be more careful," Hall said.

Scripps News Detroit tried to talk to the mail carrier, but the United States Postal Service denied the request due to the ongoing investigation. However, they shared a poster showing a reward of up to $150,000 for information leading to the arrest of the suspect.

"In my area, I've been fortunate enough, we haven't had any loss of life, but an event like that young lady experienced is forever life-changing," said Sandy Laemmel, president of Branch 1 for the National Association of Letter Carriers.

In a shocking revelation, Laemmel said that last week, there were two similar incidents. The other happened in Midtown Detroit.

"The next day, a letter carrier was approached, but the perpetrators left the area before it got to an elevated crime," Laemmel said.

Since 2020, the association has recorded over 2,000 assaults targeting mail carriers nationwide. In some cases, the postal workers have been killed. Just 10 days ago in Chicago, a mail carrier was shot and killed while on the job.

"It's almost a daily occurrence across the country. Locally in the city of Detroit, it's sporadic. But it's becoming frequent," Laemmel said.

In the last 12 months, the Taylor Police Department responded to two incidents at apartment complexes.

"It's a pretty brazen, outrageous act. These are occurring during the middle of the day," said Detective Lt. Frank Canning with the Taylor Police Department.

Scripps News Detroit showed Canning the footage of Tuesday's incident and asked if he saw a similar technique.

"Identical. It's very concerning. Obviously, for the public safety, and the tip of the iceberg of what their intentions are once they have these keys," Canning said.

Canning said thieves usually target the arrow keys, which are universal and can open mailboxes in multiple areas.

"Through our investigation, we have learned that once you have access to mailboxes, you have the potential to go thieve from mail, credit cards, checks, payments coming to and from mailboxes and you can then convert to fraudulent schemes," Canning said.

In a recent press release, USPS said for the 2024 fiscal year so far, the Postal Inspection Service has made 73% more arrests for letter carrier robberies than last year. Meanwhile, Sandy Laemmel said the association is also pushing for legislative changes besides enhanced mailbox security.

"The penalties that are on the books right now are not stiff enough," Laemmel said.

"Basically, when such crimes happen, they are handled locally or on a state level. So what you are asking for is federal prosecution?" Scripps News Detroit asked.

"Exactly, but in order to get that prosecution, Congress has to take action on it," Laemmel said.

Two bills are now in the House and Senate pending approval. In the meantime, law enforcement is asking the public to stay vigilant and report any suspicious activity. Viewer tips are essential for law enforcement, so if you know anything about this incident, please call 911 immediately.

This story was originally published by Faraz Javed at Scripps News Detroit .