A postal worker who was considered “the mother of the neighborhood” was shot dead in Chicago.
Octavia Redmond, 48, who brought joy to people along her route with her warm smile, was delivering mail when an unknown gunman drove by and shot her around noon Friday.
According to Chicago Police, the shooting occurred on South Harvard Avenue in the South Side area.
Redmond was busy delivering mail on her route when the suspect pulled out his gun and shot her several times before speeding away down 121st Street.
Neighbors later said they heard at least ten shots.
Octavia Redmond, who brought joy to people along her route with her warm smile, was delivering mail when someone drove by and shot her.
According to Chicago police, the shooting happened on South Harvard Avenue in the South Side area.
Authorities are still searching for the unknown attacker, whose white Dodge Durango was discovered burned to the ground on Saturday.
At this time, Chicago police are considering the possibility that the beloved wife and grandmother was the target.
According Fox 32Sources familiar with the matter said the killer was following Redmond.
They also said the veteran postal worker was found with all her belongings, suggesting the attack was intentional and not a robbery.
Just before he was shot, Redmond delivered mail to a neighborhood resident.
Just seconds later, the resident, who did not want to be identified, said he heard at least eight shots.
“I went into the living room and looked out the window. That’s when I saw her lying on the floor. I thought, that’s the postal worker,” he said. Fox 32.
Redmond was busy delivering mail on her route when the suspect pulled out his gun and shot her several times before speeding away down 121st Street.
Sources said the veteran postal worker was discovered with all her belongings, suggesting the attack was targeted and not a robbery.
Following the attack, the 48-year-old woman was rushed to Christ Hospital where she later succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced dead.
People who live and work in the neighborhood were shocked by the violence, which they say is not typical of the quiet area.
“I’m still looking for my morning smile or my afternoon smile,” said Kim Sanders, who worked in the neighborhood.
“Now I have to adapt to another person,” he said. ABC7.
Following the attack, the 48-year-old woman was rushed to Christ Hospital where she later succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced dead.
“It can’t be true, not in this area, not in this neighborhood, because there are a lot of older people. And we all know each other,” Sanders said. ABC7.
“My heart is broken, because there was a nice lady who came to deliver the mail and she didn’t bother anyone,” the heartbroken woman continued.
Residents of Redmond Road remembered her as someone who always had a smile on her face.
“We all knew her… she was like a mother to the neighborhood,” Sanders said.
“Sometimes he’ll come up to me and say, ‘Have a nice day.’ Sometimes he’ll see customers and give them a gift or something,” she continued.
“She was a very, very good mail carrier.”
On Friday night, a flag was flown at half-staff outside a South Side union hall to commemorate Redmond, whose husband also works as a mail carrier.
Residents along Redmond Road remembered her as someone who always had a smile on her face.
Neighbors later said they heard at least ten shots when Redmond was killed.
In an effort to help find the perpetrator, the Chicago Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service is offering a reward of up to $250,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killer.
“We’re one of our own, a postal employee. We take it as seriously as anything else, because that’s why we’re here,” Spencer Block of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service said at a news conference.
Elise Foster, president of Chapter 11 of the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), expressed her outrage following the shocking murder.
“I had the opportunity to meet with (Redmond) and talk to her, she’s a great coworker,” he said. ABC7.
“Sister Redmond is not coming home to her family and that is a problem for me.”
Foster further praised the late mailwoman, calling her a “great person.”
The NALC president also indicated that greater efforts are needed against those who attack federal employees, such as postal workers.
“They should be prosecuted. We are federal employees. How dare they? And they think they can get away with this?”
Foster continued: “My members are afraid to go to work.”
We are under attack here in Chicago.
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