As the number of assaults and robberies on letter carriers in the Chicago area continues to rise, police have released enhanced surveillance video of the suspect who they say on Saturday in the city's Little Village neighborhood hid inside a U.S. Postal Service van and then attempted to sexually assault the van's letter carrier.
According to officials, the suspect, who has yet to be identified, is considered armed and dangerous.
Police say the incident took place at 9:15 a.m. in the 2800 block of South Pulaski Road. According to officials, the suspect was hiding inside a postal van and attacked the female carrier, 28, when she entered the vehicle after pumping gas. The suspect pulled the victim's hair, police said, and directed her to drive to a nearby parking lot.
At that point, the man told the victim to go to the back of the van and undress. As she attempted to escape through the back of the vehicle, the suspect battered the woman and removed a part of her clothing, authorities said.
According officials, the victim managed to get away. The suspect then fled in the postal van, which was later recovered in the 4500 block of West Marquette Road.
Following the attack, the carrier was taken to an area hospital where she was treated for non-life threatening injuries and later released.
Police released a photo of the suspected man in the hours following the attack, but officials on Sunday provided clearer photos, along with enhanced surveillance footage of him entering the convenience store of a gas station.
According to police, the man in the surveillance video is suspected of attempted criminal assault and kidnapping in Saturday's incident.
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According to Mack Julion, the president of the National Association of Letter Carriers-Chicago, Branch 11, since August, there have been at least 30 assaults or robberies on letter carriers in the Chicago area.
“They come to work to deliver the mail, not to have people jump out of a car and stick a gun to their face,” Julion said.
Last week, Chicago-area lawmakers sent a letter to the United States Postal Service Board of Governors, expressing concern over inaction in response to an uptick in violence and crime against letter carriers locally and nationwide.
"Since 2018, reports of mail carrier robberies have more than tripled from 80 robberies in 2018 to more than 260 in 2021," the letter reads. "Criminals frequently target carriers for their master keys, often reselling these keys to other criminals for thousands of dollars. We call upon the Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service to take the necessary steps to ensure postal workers across the nation can carry out their jobs in peace."
The letter was signed by Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, as well as Illinois congressional members Mike Quigley, Sean Casten and Jan Schakowsky.
The Postal Inspection Service is offering up to $50,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect responsible in Saturday's attack, and is urging anyone with information to report tips to the USPIS Hotline 877-876-2455.
