A United States Postal Service (USPS) letter carrier was robbed at gunpoint on November 10 in the Humboldt Park neighborhood in Chicago. Currently, authorities are offering a reward up to $150,000 for information leading to an arrest in the case, according to CBS News.
The suspect, described as a Black male aged between 45 and 50 years, was clad in a black cap, a black hoodie, a black hospital mask, prescription glasses, and faded blue jeans at the time of the incident. He approached the 31-year-old female postal worker around 12:30 p.m. in the 900 block of North Francisco Avenue. As cited by the Chicago Sun-Times, the suspect brandished a firearm when he entered the postal employee's van. Despite this, she wasn't harmed. The authorities haven't disclosed what was stolen in the robbery.
A plausible motive for the robbery might be a reported trend of criminals targeting mail carriers for their mailbox keys, which provide access to blue mailboxes. Thieves have been known to use these keys to steal letters and checks from the boxes. They often then use these checks to commit check fraud or "check washing," i.e., the removal of the ink and changing of the payment information on the checks, as stated by the Chicago Sun-Times.
The crime rate involving the theft of mailbox keys and robberies of letter carriers has seen a significant increase over recent years. To respond to this steep rise in crime rates, rewards for tips leading to the arrest of individuals robbing postal employees have been increased by the USPS from $50,000 to $150,000, enacted in August, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
In May, USPS laid out its "Project Safe Delivery" plan to tackle postal crimes to Congress. This plan included fitting over 10,000 blue mail collection boxes with electronic locks to make it more challenging for criminals to gain access to them. However, despite these efforts, attacks such as the recent Humboldt Park robbery continue.
As of now, the case's suspect is still at large and is considered armed and dangerous. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is advising individuals with any related information to call their helpline at (877) 876-2455 and say "law enforcement," as recommended by CBS News.
