$50,000 reward offered for man who attacked postal worker in Little Village
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Another postal worker was attacked in Chicago, and this time, her USPS truck was stolen. It is the second known worker attacked this week.
It happened at a gas station in the 2800 block of South Pulaski Road in the Little Village neighborhood around 9:15 Saturday morning. A letter carrier said she was assaulted while in her USPS truck. She was taken to Saint Anthony Hospital and released shortly later.
Police say the victim was trying to get into the truck when the offender, who was already inside, attempted to assault her. The man pulled her by the hair and directed her to drive to a nearby parking lot. It's not clear if she did. Police say he then told her to move to the back of the van and remove her clothing. As she was attempting to escape through the rear of the van, he tried to beat her and removed a portion of her clothing, police said.
The 28-year-old letter carrier fled the truck, and her assailant fled in her USPS vehicle.
Police Sunday released an updated photo of the man wanted in the assault.
That truck was later recovered about 20 minutes away in the 4800 block of West Marquette.
The truck was found, but the suspect is still at large.
One of the victim's colleagues said she is devastated for her coworker but also said she is resigned to the fact that this could happen to any postal worker at any time.
"We're women. We're all supporting each other. We're carriers, so we're all out here worried about the same thing," said Labray Brown. "But my heart is just breaking for her because that could have happened to any of us."
The United States Postal Inspection Service said the person that did this is considered armed and dangerous.
"She was terrified he threatened her life, and you know she was just she just repeated to him, you know, 'Please don't kill me,'" said Mack Julion, with the National Association of Mail Carriers Chicago. "We're concerned because something needs to be done. We're talking about roughly 29 or 30 incidents in the middle of August."
The union says those totals are terrifying. Their priority is not just finding this man but also keeping their carriers safe on the job. They are asking for more postal police officers on postal routes.
Area Four Detectives are investigating. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact the USPIS Hotline at 877-876-2455. All callers will remain confidential.
USPS is now offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person who assaulted the postal worker. According to USPS, the man is described as Hispanic, approximately 40 to 49 years old, with short hair. He was wearing a light colored sleeveless shirt, dark jeans and black shoes at the time of the incident. He has mulitple arm and chest tattoos and a tattoo on the side of his head.
