6 mail carriers robbed in Maryland, D.C areas

Published: Jul. 2, 2022 at 3:07 AM EDT
Email This Link
Share on Pinterest
Share on LinkedIn

(CNN) - At least six carriers in Washington D.C. and Maryland were robbed in just two days, authorities say.

United States Postal Service officials expressed they are now offering big rewards to curb the trend.

While on routes, mail carriers had guns pulled on them or were assaulted during the robberies.

“This is an alarming trend that needs to stop,” Michael Martel said, U.S. Postal Inspector.

Authorities say the robberies so far, have occurred in the D.C. and Maryland areas.

They say there was one incident on each side of the border Thursday.

Another incident occurred Friday around 10:30 a.m. in Wheaton, Maryland.

Postal carriers were attacked twice more in Maryland and again in D.C. just before 1:30 p.m.

“It is a sad state of things when it comes down to robberies against someone that provides an essential service to our communities, but it’s happening here and it’s got to end,” Martel said.

Police retrieved images that showed a black Mercedes Benz with temporary tags being used as a getaway car in one of the robberies.

Inspectors say a letter carrier was hit in the head during an incident that occurred on Florida Avenue.

Another black sedan, possibly an Infiniti was used in the attack in Beltsville, Maryland, according to authorities.

“They are taking personal property and postal service property. That’s all I can say at this time. They are not stealing mail to my knowledge,” Martel said.

As far as a possible link to the crimes, the suspect descriptions in each of the robberies do have some similarities.

The suspects were described as skinny, with a high-pitched voice, about 5 foot, 8 inches tall, wearing all black and most cases a ski mask.

“They are in everybody’s neighborhood on a daily basis delivering everything from birthday cards to goods ordered online. They are part of our lives and it’s important for us to make sure they are safe,” Martel said.

Copyright 2022 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved.