Boy, 15, charged in July shooting death of Chicago postal worker Octavia Redmond

CHICAGO — A 15-year-old boy was held in custody after a Tuesday court appearance on a charge connected to the shooting death of an on-duty USPS letter carrier on the city’s Far South Side in July.

The boy faces one felony count of first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of 48-year-old Octavia Redmond. According to police, the deadly shooting unfolded on July 19 in the 12100 block of South Harvard Avenue in the West Pullman neighborhood.

Following a months-long investigation by Chicago detectives, the 15-year-old was identified as the shooter in Redmond’s death. He was arrested by the Chicago Police Department and the U.S. Marshals Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force on Monday on the 800 block of Walford Road in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and extradited to Chicago, authorities said.

The judge overseeing the teen’s case says the boy was out on juvenile release at the time of the shooting for an attempted burglary case in February. A warrant had been issued for the teen in May because he couldn’t be located.

In court Tuesday, prosecutors said the boy was dressed in all black the day of the shooting. They say he went to the home of a witness to change his shoes, and they said the boy’s cell phone records showed he was sending messages about Redmond’s delivery route and location before he got out of a stolen white Dodge Durango and shot Redmond multiple times. The shooting was captured by a home surveillance camera. The gun used in the shooting has already been linked to a separate battery case.

The teen’s father joined court via video and told the judge that his son “just doesn’t stay put.” When the teen began crying in court, the judge inquired why. The teen didn’t answer.

“It is sad that we are facing attacks,” said Louis Rivas, the president of the Illinois State Association of Letter Carriers. “Since 2020 there’s been more than 2,000 attacks on postal employees, over 150 since 2022 in the Chicago district alone, resulting the deaths of sister Redmond and about four other people across the country.”

Redmond was a Chicago resident who had worked as a letter carrier for the United States Postal Service for five years. The arrest in her death comes on the United Postal Workers Union’s “ Day of Action .” At a rally in Roseland, where Redmond served as an employee, members spoke on the need for increased safety measures, including the need for postal police officers to follow employees while they’re out making deliveries.

“Right now we’re calling on action for more safety protection for letter carriers while we’re out here. We should not have to face the difficult task of ever wondering, ‘If I come to work, will I return home to my family?'” said Elise Foster, the president of the National Association of Letter Carriers.

Redmond’s family attended Tuesday’s court hearing but declined to comment. The teen’s next court appearance was scheduled for November 1.

In response to WGN’s questions, a USPS spokesman said the agency respects employees’ rights “to express their opinions and participate in informational picketing while off the clock.” With specific regard to the employees’ Day of Action, the spokesman issued the following statement:

“Through our Delivering for America investments, we have built capacity into our processing, logistics, and delivery infrastructure to meet customers’ evolving mail and package needs. We are executing on strategies to pull together the people, technology, transportation, equipment, and facilities into a well-integrated and streamlined mail and package network.

We have worked hard in past 3 years to stabilize our workforce. We have converted more than 191,000 pre-career employees to career status since January 2021.”

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