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Postal worker fatally shoots two before killing himself

The third high-profile shooting in or near Memphis in weeks left two U.S. Postal Service workers dead and a third employee – identified as the shooter – died from a self-inflicted gunshot, authorities said Tuesday.

U.S. Postal Inspector Susan Link said the three postal workers were found dead after the shooting at the East Lamar Carrier Annex at 2801 Park Ave. in historic Orange Mound.

No identities or motive were released by Link or FBI spokeswoman Lisa-Anne Culp at a brief news conference late Tuesday afternoon.

Culp said the postal service worker who carried out the deadly attack died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The carrier annex, where the shooting occurred, is only used by employees.

As details trickled out, it later was learned that the shooter, a male, shot and killed another man and a woman.

The postal facility in Orange Mound became a crime scene Tuesday afternoon. (Photo: Gary S. Whitlow/GSW Enterprises)

“The Postal Service is saddened at the events that took place today in Memphis,” USPS said in a statement. “Our thoughts are with the family members, friends and coworkers of the individuals involved. The Postal Service will be providing resources to all employees at the East Lamar Carrier Annex in the coming days and weeks.”

The street leading to the complex was blocked by police Tuesday afternoon following the shooting. The FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and other federal authorities were investigating.

(Photo: Gary S. Whitlow)

As the police activity unfolded, bystanders watched and talked at a nearby convenience store.

A white four-door car was towed from the scene, but it was not clear who it belonged to.

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Memphis) called the post office “the latest site of gun violence” in the Memphis area.

“Today’s shooting at the postal facility in Orange Mound is yet another example of why I am concerned that too many guns are out there and in possession of people who aren’t able to control their anger,” Cohen said in a statement. “I express my profound condolences to all those affected by this terrible event.”


SHOOTING AFTERMATH


The violence follows other shootings in the Memphis area in recent weeks. The franchise owner of a sushi counter inside a Kroger grocery store in Collierville fatally shot one person and wounded 14 others before killing himself on Sept. 23.

A week later, a teenage boy was shot and critically wounded inside Cummings K-8 Optional School. A hearing for the 13-year-old shooter was set for Oct. 12 but was reset for November.

Tuesday’s incident comes 11 years after another fatal post office shooting in West Tennessee. On Oct. 18, 2010, two mail workers were fatally shot during a robbery at a post office in the rural town of Henning, located about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Memphis.

Last week, that post office was named in honor of slain employees Paula Robinson and Judy Spray.

(This story reflects a report by the Associated Press.)

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