Authorities say a 39-year-old woman shot two co-workers at the Des Moines Main Post Office and fled the scene before being captured nearby. A third employee was injured when he fell while trying to escape Thursday morning’s shooting. None of the injuries were believed to be life-threatening.
Here’s what we know:
First reports, rapid response
Sgt. Paul Parizek, a spokesman for the Des Moines Police Department, said the first 911 calls came in around 9:10 a.m., with reports of 10 to 12 shots fired on the second floor of the United States Postal Service facility, located at 1165 Second Avenue in Des Moines. It is a processing and distribution facility for the USPS.
“We had the first officer on scene within three minutes,” he said. “And the suspect was arrested at 9:21 a.m.,” less than a half-mile away, along the bike path that runs under Interstate 235.
He called the response “massive,” with DMPD receiving help from local agencies including Altoona, Iowa State Patrol, Pleasant Hill, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and West Des Moines. Federal agents from the ATF, FBI and U.S. postal inspectors were also involved.
Watch: Police say suspected shooter was USPS employee
Victims
Two postal workers, ages 53 and 45, who were shot were self-transported to nearby MercyOne Medical Center. A 55-year-old postal worker was injured when he fell while fleeing the shooting. A Des Moines police officer transported the man to Mercy.
The shooting occurred in an area of the postal facilities not accessible to the public.
None of the injuries are life-threatening, police said.
MercyOne released a statement saying, “Due to its confidentiality policies and respect for the privacy of those it serves, the hospital does not comment on specific clinical cases. »
Emergency calls captured the tense moments of the evolving situation. “I’m at Mercy Hospital, I have a gunshot victim that just arrived at Mercy,” a caller said. Another added: “I have a victim coming through the front door on the east side. » Police later reported: “The officer went out with the suspect under the bridge. Unit 91, she is detained, there are a lot of people here.
A news conference is planned for 10 a.m. Friday morning at the Des Moines Police Department, where officials will be able to provide more information about the incident.
Suspicious
The suspected shooter is Jennifer Christine Pledger, 39, of West Des Moines, who works at the postal facility, according to a DMPD news release. Officers stopped her about a half-mile from the scene of the shooting, along a bike path under the Interstate 235 bridge.
“A 9mm handgun was recovered by law enforcement at the scene where the suspect was arrested,” police said in a news release Thursday afternoon.
“There has been no statement about motive,” Parizek said.
Pledger was charged with two counts of attempted murder, a class B felony; two counts of willful injury causing serious injury, a class C felony; and one count of intimidation with a dangerous weapon, a class C felony.
Watch: KCCI’s Eric Hanson on scene where suspected shooter arrested after post office shooting
Neighboring school moved to “secure status”
When notified by police of the shooting around 9:20 a.m., Des Moines Public Schools officials placed Carver Elementary School, the DMPS Welcome Center and the nearby Central Nutrition Center on “secure status,” where no one is allowed to enter or exit the building. She was up about 30 minutes later.
“Education Day” continued at Casey’s Center
The post office is located less than a mile north of Casey’s Center, where hundreds of schoolchildren were in attendance at the Iowa Wild game for “Education Day.” Local officials say they were in constant communication with authorities and, thanks to the rapid police response, events proceeded as usual.
Officials react
Governor Kim Reynolds posted on X that she was in contact with the Department of Public Safety regarding the shooting.
“We are monitoring the situation and our prayers are with everyone involved,” she wrote. “I am grateful for the immediate response from law enforcement.”
Also on X, Governor-elect Rob Sand said: “My thoughts are with the Iowans affected by this senseless act of violence. I will continue to monitor the situation and am grateful to the dedicated first responders who were able to respond quickly and ultimately save lives. »
Watch: Iowa leaders respond to Des Moines post office shooting
History of postal shootings
Past shootings at postal facilities have prompted the Postal Service to study employee safety.
In 1986, a disgruntled postal worker went on a rampage at a post office in Edmond, Oklahoma, shooting 14 co-workers before killing himself. After that shooting and others over the next decade, postal officials commissioned a study published in 2000 to examine workplace violence in the era when the term “going to the mail” was becoming familiar.
The report makes several recommendations for reporting violent trends, while concluding that “going postal” is a myth and that postal workers are less violent than the national workforce.
Road closures
Authorities closed Second Avenue in both directions for more than an hour after the shooting. Southbound traffic reopened around 10:30 a.m. and the northbound lanes opened around 10:45 a.m.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this article.
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