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List of postal killings

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Postal killings in various countries resulted in fatalities that have occurred on the properties of postal systems or related issues/events. The main sections are divided by countries. Events are listed in chronological order.

Australia

  • December 17, 1926, Adelaide: fired postal worker James Hannivan shot and wounded two employees at Adelaide General Post Office, before committing suicide by shooting himself in the head.
  • December 8, 1987, Queen Street massacre, Melbourne: Frank Vitkovic, former law student, entered an office building on Queen Street at 4:20 p.m. with the intent to murder a former school friend and kill as many people as possible before taking his own life. In the ensuing shooting spree eight people were killed and five injured. At around 4:30 p.m. after the gun was wrestled from him, he jumped to his death from the 11th floor. Vitkovic's former friend did not work for a postal department, but for a credit union that was a tenant of the building. Most of the other floors were occupied by the offices of Australia Post and most of the victims were Australia Post office workers.

Canada

  • October 30, 1934, Quebec: Rosaire Bilodeau, ex-carrier of the Quebec postal service, drove five of his family members out into the woods, in two trips, and killed them. He then took 8 shots at postmaster Morin, senior mail clerk Moïse Jolicoeur, and divisional superintendent Oscar Fiset, killing Jolicoeur.

Iran

United States

  • August 13, 1970, Los Angeles, California: Harry Sendrow, 54, a postal supervisor, was shot in the back three times by Alfred Kellum, 41, whom Sendrow had sent home for being intoxicated. Five hours later Kellum was found unconscious and arrested. Police officers said he appeared to be intoxicated.
  • March 22, 1975, Gadsden, Alabama: Floyd Davidson, a 47-year-old postal employee, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Gadsden Postmaster James M. Ford and a postal tour superintendent, Eldred Curtis McDonald.
  • November 4, 1980, New Orleans, Louisiana: Curtis Collins, a disgruntled postal worker, shot and killed his supervisor and wounded a security guard with a high-powered rifle, in a second-floor office of a federal building near the Superdome. A postal employee said Collins had received a letter of reprimand from the supervisor and slashed the tires on her car two days earlier. Collins was charged with murder and attempted murder.
  • August 19, 1983, Johnston, South Carolina: Perry Smith, a resigned USPS employee, charged into the Johnston post office with a 12-gauge shotgun and began firing at workers in a hall, killing the postmaster and wounding two other employees.
  • December 2, 1983, Anniston, Alabama: James Brooks, 53, entered the Anniston, Alabama post office with a .38-caliber pistol, killing the postmaster. Brooks then pursued his supervisor up the stairs and shot him twice, injuring him.
  • March 6, 1985, Atlanta, Georgia: Steven Brownlee, a 12-year veteran of the postal service, opened fire on the night shift in the Atlanta main post office with a .22-caliber pistol, killing a supervisor and a coworker and wounding another coworker in a mail sorting area.
  • November 15, 1985, Manitou, Oklahoma: Forrest Albert Reffner, 39, was at the Manitou post office to check his elderly mother's mail when 74-year-old Arvell "Pete" Conner, armed with a .38-caliber, began arguing with Reffner before shooting and killing him inside the main post office.
  • August 20, 1986, Edmond, Oklahoma: Patrick Sherrill, a part-time letter carrier, fatally shot 14 employees and wounded six at the Edmond post office. He subsequently committed suicide. This is the deadliest workplace shooting in US history and gave rise to the American phrase "going postal".
  • December 14, 1988, New Orleans, Louisiana: Warren Murphy entered the New Orleans postal facility with a 12-gauge shotgun hidden under his clothing. Later, during his work shift, after an incident with a supervisor, he reportedly went to the men's room and came out brandishing the shotgun. He then fatally shot his supervisor in the face. The fired shot reportedly wounded two other employees. After the shooting, he held his ex-girlfriend hostage. Two FBI SWAT agents were also reportedly wounded upon finding Warren Murphy in a supervisor's office. He eventually surrendered to the agents.
  • August 10, 1989, Escondido, California: John Merlin Taylor killed his wife, then two colleagues and himself at Orange Glen post office..
  • October 10, 1991: Ex-postal worker Joseph M. Harris killed his ex-supervisor and her boyfriend at their home in Wayne, New Jersey, then killed two former colleagues as they arrived at the Ridgewood, New Jersey post office where they all previously worked. According to "Today in Rotten History", Harris was initially armed with an Uzi, grenades and a "samurai sword", and was later arrested after a 4½-hour standoff with police, garbed in a ninja's outfit and gas mask. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to death.
  • November 14, 1991, Royal Oak, Michigan: In the Royal Oak post office shootings, fired postal worker Thomas McIlvane killed four and wounded five before killing himself.
  • May 6, 1993, Dearborn, Michigan: Postal worker Larry Jasion killed one and wounded three others before killing himself at a post office garage.
  • May 6, 1993, Dana Point, California: Mark Richard Hilbun, a former postal employee, killed his mother and her dog in their home. He then made his way to the post facility where he used to work and shot two postal workers, killing one and injuring the other. It was the beginning of a three-day rampage in which he injured several other people, prompted by Hilbun's dismissal for stalking another co-worker.
  • March 21, 1995, Montclair, New Jersey: Christopher Green, a former postal employee, killed four people, including two employees, and wounded a fifth at the Fairfield Street branch post office. While this is a postal killing, the primary motivation appears to have been debt payment, and there was no indication that the former employee was mentally disturbed as a result of his former postal work.
  • July 10, 1995, City of Industry, California: 25-year postal clerk Bruce Clark punched his supervisor in the back of the head following an argument at the City of Industry mail processing center and left the work area. About ten minutes later, he returned with a brown paper bag. Upon being asked by his supervisor what was in the bag, Clark reportedly pulled out a .38 revolver and shot the supervisor twice at close range, once in the upper body and once in the face, killing him. Two employees reportedly took the gun away from Clark and held him until police arrived. Seventy-five postal employees reportedly witnessed the shooting.
  • December 19, 1996, Las Vegas, Nevada: Former employee Charles Jennings went to the parking lot at the Las Vegas postal facility and fatally shot a labor relations specialist. Mr. Jennings reportedly indicated in his statement to investigators that the victim struggled to take the gun away from him and was shot in the process.
  • September 2, 1997, Miami Beach, Florida: 21-year postal employee Jesus Antonio Tamayo shot his ex-wife and friend, who were waiting in line, then killed himself.
  • December 20, 1997, Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Anthony Deculit killed a coworker and wounded a supervisor and another coworker with a 9 mm pistol before killing himself.
  • January 30, 2006, Goleta, California: Former mail processor Jennifer San Marco, 44, killed six employees (five immediately, another died later). A seventh victim, a former neighbor, was killed beforehand. San Marco committed suicide at the sorting facility.
  • April 4, 2006, Baker City, Oregon: While on duty, Grant Gallaher, a letter carrier for 13 years, reportedly went home and got his .357 Magnum revolver and drove to the city post office with the intention of killing the postmaster. Arriving at the parking lot, he ran over his supervisor several times. After unsuccessfully searching the building for the postmaster, he returned to the parking lot and shot his supervisor several times at close range, ostensibly to ensure she was dead. He reportedly then fired three bullets at the windshield of her car and three more into the hood. Gallaher was on a new route for three weeks and had felt pressured by a week-long work-time study and extra time added to his new route..
  • November 28, 2006, San Francisco, California: 39-year-old Julius Kevin Tartt, an 18-year employee working at the Napoleon Street Carrier Annex in San Francisco, went to his supervisor's residence armed with a revolver and shot her in the back of the head outside her house. He then reportedly left the scene and fatally shot himself in the head the following day. Early in the investigation, homicide investigators examined disputes between Tartt and his supervisor, including what one police official referred to as a discipline issue. A homicide official stated that there were indications that Tartt was dissatisfied with work and with the supervisor.
  • December 23, 2017, Dublin, Ohio: 24-year-old DeShaune Stewart, in response to his pending dismissal, shot and killed his supervisor and then shoved the postmaster to the ground in a parking lot, causing fatal head trauma. Stewart had been under investigation by the U.S. Postal Service prior to the incident. In September 2019, Stewart was found not guilty of his crimes by reason of insanity.
  • October 12, 2021, Memphis, Tennessee: 28-year-old Johntra Haley, a USPS city carrier assistant, killed two of his coworkers and himself at the USPS East Lamar carrier annex facility.
  • October 20, 2022, Chattanooga, Tennessee: 27-year-old Brian Simmons, a USPS worker, shot and killed his supervisor. Simmons then fled the scene and crashed into a nail salon and Fedex. Simmons was found dead inside of his crashed truck from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

See also

References

  1. Family Herald and Weekly Star, October 31, 1934, p. 48.
  2. "Ex-employee of state firm kills 3 in Iran shooting rampage". Associated Press. 18 May 2022. Retrieved 2022-05-18.
  3. "Post Office Supervisor Shot to Death; Co-Worker Arrested". Los Angeles Times. 14 Aug 1970. p. 34.
  4. "Gadsden Times - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  5. "A disgruntled postal worker with a high-powered rifle shot..." UPI. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
  6. "EXCERPT: Breaking Down at the Post Office". Alternet. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  7. ^ Musacco, Stephen: Beyond Going Postal. BookSurge Publishing 2009, ISBN 978-1439220757
  8. Gorman, Tom; Serrano, Richard (August 11, 1989). "'Ideal' Letter Carrier Kills 3 in Escondido : Police, Co-Workers at a Loss for a Motive; Wife, 2 Co-Workers Victims of Rampage". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  9. Jones, J. Harry; De Salvo, Steven; Telles, Paul (August 10, 1989). "Escondido postal worker kills two; 3rd body found". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  10. Hanley, Robert (October 11, 1991). "4 Slain in 2 New Jersey Attacks And Former Postal Clerk Is Held". The New York Times.
  11. "A former postal worker commits mass murder". The History Channel website. 2010. Retrieved November 11, 2010.
  12. Gregory K. Moffatt, Blind-Sided: Homicide Where It Is Least Expected, at 37 (2000).
  13. "Terrorized Post Office Worker Sues her Union : Courts: Kim Springer claims officers suppressed "damaging information" about the man accused of stalking her and shooting two of her co-workers". Los Angeles Times. 1994-05-04. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
  14. Gregory K. Moffatt, Blind-Sided: Homicide Where It Is Least Expected, at 37 (2000).
  15. "DEATH IN THE POST OFFICE: THE OVERVIEW; Former Montclair Postal Worker Charged With Killings in Robbery". The New York Times. March 23, 1995.
  16. "Killer's Behavior Had Grown More Bizarre, Authorities Say". Los Angeles Times. February 2, 2006.
  17. "Seven dead in California postal shooting". CNN. January 31, 2006.
  18. "US ex-postal employee kills six". BBC News. January 31, 2006.
  19. "U.S. News - National News". ABC News. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  20. "Gallaher sentenced for post office supervisor's murder". The Baker City Herald. Archived from the original on January 9, 2018. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  21. "Gallaher Sentenced in Baker County Circuit Court". Hells Canyon Journal. August 16, 2006. p. 3. Retrieved September 19, 2010.
  22. Calicchio, Dom (December 23, 2017). "Enraged naked postal worker goes on killing spree, police say". Fox News. Retrieved December 24, 2017.
  23. "Ex-Postal Worker accused of killing postmaster, postal supervisor found not guilty by reason of insanity". Postal Reporter. September 24, 2019. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  24. "2 Postal Service employees killed after facility shooting in Memphis, FBI says; suspect dead". USA Today.
  25. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/police-investigating-shooting-at-post-office-in-memphis/2021/10/12/e8424bca-2b96-11ec-b17d-985c186de338_story.html
  26. "UPDATE: USPS reopens Shallowford Road location following deadly shooting on Sunday night". November 2022.
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