26-year-old Tyson Jerome Barnette, a U.S. postal worker in Landover, Maryland, was shot and killed while on his route last Saturday, according to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, as reported by ABC News. Barnette was found suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, and was pronounced dead at the scene when police arrived.
"We're looking for any information that anyone might have about the individual responsible for the killing of the carrier or what may have transpired right before or right after," said Frank Schissler, a U.S. Postal Inspector and public information officer for U.S. Postal Inspection Service Agency.
Any person who kills or attempts to kill any federal officer or employee while they are on official duties could face the death penalty, according to the USPS.
Barnette's murder comes subsequent to a series of recent attacks against postal worker s in the last few months, according to news reports. For instance, in Tacoma, Washington., a postal worker "was the subject of an unprovoked attack and punched three times while delivering mail. Another mail carrier was injured in Pennsylvania after he kicked a dog, thinking it was going to bite him, and the dog's owner started to hit him. In Springfield, Ohio a female postal service worker was groped while delivering mail," ABC News also reported.
Mail service was suspended for a week after a postal service employee was attacked in Beaumont, Texas, as well, according to news reports.
