Memphis shooting: 3 postal employees, including the shooter, dead

Another incident of gun violence resulted in the death of two US Postal Service workers on Tuesday at a postal facility in Memphis. The shooter, who was himself an employee died from a self-inflicted gunshot, authorities said. It was the third high-profile shooting in or near that west Tennessee city in recent weeks.

According to US Postal Inspector Susan Link, three postal workers were found dead after the shooting at the East Lamar Carrier Annex in a prominent Memphis neighborhood. FBI spokeswoman Lisa-Anne Culp said the shooting was carried out by a third postal service worker, who shot him or herself, the Associated Press reported.

The authorities are yet to reveal the identities of the dead or the motive behind the shooting.

The shooting occurred at the post office branch in the historic Orange Mound neighborhood, southeast of downtown Memphis.

The street leading to the post office was blocked by police on Tuesday afternoon following the shooting, and federal authorities also gathered at the site.

A white four-door car was towed from the scene, but it was not clear who it belonged to.

“The Postal Service is saddened at the events that took place today in Memphis. Our thoughts are with the family members, friends, and coworkers of the individuals involved. The Postal Service will be providing resources to all employees at the East Lamar Carrier Annex in the coming days and weeks,” USPS said in a statement, quoted by the Associated Press.

The violence follows other shootings in the Memphis area in recent weeks. The franchise owner of a sushi counter inside a Kroger grocery store fatally shot one person and wounded 14 others before killing himself on September 23, investigators said. A week later, a teenage boy was shot and critically wounded inside a Memphis school and police detained a second boy believed to be the shooter.

Two mail workers were fatally shot during a robbery at a post office in the rural West Tennessee town of Henning on October 18, 2010. The post office was named in honor of the slain employees last week.

(With AP inputs)