MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Two U.S. Postal Service workers were fatally shot Tuesday at a postal facility in Memphis and a third employee identified as the shooter died from a self-inflicted gunshot, authorities said. It was the third high-profile shooting in or near that west Tennessee city in weeks.
U.S. Postal Inspector Susan Link said that three postal workers were found dead after the shooting at the East Lamar Carrier Annex in a prominent Memphis neighborhood. FBI spokeswoman Lisa-Anne Culp said the shooting was carried out by a third postal service worker, who shot him or herself.
No identities or motive were released by authorities at an initial news briefing late Tuesday afternoon.
The shooting occurred at the post office branch in the historic Orange Mound neighborhood, southeast of downtown Memphis.
The street leading to the post office was blocked by police Tuesday afternoon following the shooting, and federal authorities also gathered at the site.
A white four-door car was towed from the scene, but it was not clear who it belonged to.
“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 violence follows other shootings in the Memphis area in recent weeks. The franchise owner of a sushi counter inside a Kroger grocery store fatally shot one person and wounded 14 others before killing himself on Sept. 23, investigators said. A week later, a teenage boy was shot and critically wounded inside a Memphis school and police detained a second boy believed to be the shooter.
On Oct. 18, 2010, two mail workers were fatally shot during a robbery at a post office in the rural West Tennessee town of Henning. The post office was named in honor of the slain employees last week.
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