15-year-old charged with murder of USPS mail carrier on duty, officials say

CHICAGO (TMX/Gray News) – A 15-year-old boy has been charged with first-degree murder in the July killing of a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier in Chicago, authorities said Tuesday.

The juvenile suspect, who was not publicly named, was arrested on Monday by the Chicago Police Department and the U.S. Marshal Service following a two-month investigation.

Officials said USPS mail carrier Octavia Redmond, 48, was delivering mail on July 19 when she was shot and killed.

The teenager exited a stolen Dodge Durango and shot her multiple times at close range, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service said.

Redmond died of her injuries at the hospital.

The stolen Durango was recovered by law enforcement the next day.

USPS said Redmond “was a wife and mother and is remembered as a staple to the postal customers she served.”

A GoFundMe page called Redmond the “queen of our family.”

Ruth Mendonça, Inspector in charge of the Chicago Division of USPIS, said there is no place for this type of “senseless violence.”

“When members of our postal family are targeted, postal inspectors will not rest until justice is delivered on behalf of the victims, their families, and our postal community.”

The investigation is ongoing.