3 employees killed in shooting at postal facility in Memphis
The three U.S. Postal Service workers who died in a shooting at a Tennessee sorting facility included a supervisor, a manager and a letter carrier temporarily assigned to the postal annex
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Three U.S. Postal Service workers who died in a shooting spree at a Tennessee sorting facility included a supervisor, a manager and a letter carrier temporarily assigned to the postal annex, relatives and co-workers said.
Two workers were fatally shot Tuesday by a third who died from a self-inflicted gunshot, authorities said. The FBI and U.S. Postal Service didn’t immediately name those involved.
Laquita Benjamin, president of the local branch of the National Association of Postal Supervisors, told media outlets that those killed were a carrier, a supervisor and a manager.
“You can’t just relate it to the postal service because you have school shootings, store shootings, you have shootings all over,” Benjamin said.
A family member identified one of the dead as James Wilson a manager at the East Lamar Carrier Annex in Orange Mound, a historic Memphis neighborhood.
“He was a humble soul, one of the nicest supervising managers you could ever wish there was,” Roxanne Rogers said of Wilson, her cousin.
Rogers, herself a postal worker, said Wilson had just returned to the annex after filling in at a different location.
Melvin Richardson, president of the American Postal Workers Union Local 96, said the annex is only used by employees. Carriers depart from annexes in the morning and staff remain throughout the day with tasks such as sorting mail.
Retired mail carrier LaFerre Ryan rushed to the facility where he worked for 18 years after hearing about the shootings.
“We all postal family," Ryan said. "They’re still my family. It hurts because it can be me or anyone else, you know what I’m saying,” said Ryan.