Postal worker charged with attempted murder after shooting 2 coworkers at Des Moines post office, police say

By Andy Rose, and Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN

(CNN) — A US Postal Service employee has been charged with attempted murder after police say she shot two of her coworkers at a large post office near downtown Des Moines, Iowa, on Thursday morning, and investigators are still searching for her motive.

A third person — also a Postal Service employee — was hurt while trying to flee the shooting, Des Moines police Sgt. Paul Parizek told reporters.

All three injured employees were being treated at a hospital, and they are expected to survive their injuries, Parizek said.

The suspect, identified as 39-year-old Des Moines resident Jennifer Christine Pledger, began shooting at a group of her coworkers on the second floor of the building, an area not open to the public, shortly after 9 a.m. local time, according to police.

The shooting broke out during a morning huddle of about 20 to 30 employees, according to the president of the local American Postal Workers Union, Mike Bates, who spoke with CNN affiliate KCCI.

Witnesses told investigators Pledger shot one victim, who fell to the ground, police said in a news release.

“Pledger then approached that victim, stood over her, and fired again,” police said.

She then resumed shooting toward other workers as they fled, witnesses told police.

By the time police arrived, Pledger had left the building, and she was taken into custody outside, Parizek said. A 9mm handgun was also found at the scene, he said.

Two women postal employees, ages 45 and 53, were shot, and a 55-year-old male coworker “had a fall injury as (he was) trying to get away from the situation inside the building,” Parizek said.

Pledger has been charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of willful injury causing serious injury and a count of intimidation with a dangerous weapon — all felonies, according to police.

“A lot of questions came in about what the suspect’s motive was. We don’t have any information on that right now,” Parizek said Thursday morning. Later that afternoon, Pledger had still not indicated her possible motives, he said in an update.

The suspect was booked into Polk County Jail without bail. CNN is working to determine whether she has legal representation.

Des Moines Police are leading the investigation with the assistance of the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The Postal Service said its law enforcement arm, the US Postal Inspection Service, is also investigating. Agents from the ATF responded to the scene, the agency said.

“At this time, there is no ongoing risk to the public and no further details can be provided while this is an ongoing investigation,” the Postal Inspection Service said in a news release.

Bates, who spoke to several union members who work in the building, stressed the importance of allowing employees enough time to recover after such a shocking incident.

“It could have been a lot worse, but the whole situation of that and living through that is what’s going to cause the most damage,” Bates told KCCI.

A rash of violent incidents involving postal employees during the 1980s and 1990s gave rise to “going postal” as a slang term for mass violence in the workplace. The deadliest incident was in 1986, when Patrick Henry Sherrill used three handguns to kill 14 co-workers at a post office in Edmond, Oklahoma, before turning the gun on himself.

Emergency responders in tactical helmets were seen at the post office Thursday along with more than a dozen law enforcement vehicles, video from CNN affiliate WOI showed.

The facility is just north of downtown Des Moines, about a mile from the state Capitol building.

“My prayers are with the victims, their families, and everyone impacted by this tragedy,” US Rep. Zach Nunn, whose district includes Des Moines, posted to Facebook Thursday. “Grateful to the law enforcement officers and first responders on the scene.”

Last month, the National Threat Assessment Center of the US Secret Service released a study of workplace violence incidents. It recommended employers take it seriously when concern is raised about an employee’s behavior, even when there is not a direct threat of physical harm.

“It is essential for organizations to maintain a low threshold of concern for initiating a behavioral threat assessment and not limit their focus solely to explicit threats of violence,” the report stated. Authorities haven’t said whether any concerns had been raised at the Des Moines facility before Thursday’s shooting.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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CNN’s Chris Boyette, Kara Devlin, Vivian Phillips, Holmes Lybrand, Jeff Zeleny and Jennifer Feldman contributed to this report.