A female postal worker shot two fellow female employees at the main post office in Iowa's capital

A female postal worker shot two fellow female employees at the main post office in Iowa’s capital city Thursday before being captured nearby, authorities said.

The Response in Des Moines

Des Moines police officers responded to the facility just north of downtown within three minutes of receiving initial calls around 9:10 a.m. Thursday. Witnesses reported hearing 10 to 12 shots on the second floor of the building in an area not accessible to the general public. Officers quickly located the 39-year-old suspect and detained her without resistance along a nearby bike path at 9:21 a.m., recovering a 9 mm handgun where she was caught.

Female postal worker shot 2 coworkers at Des Moines post office before being captured, police say

A male employee sustained injuries in a fall while trying to escape the gunfire. Des Moines Police Sgt. Paul Parizek confirmed that the three victims—two women aged 45 and 53, and a 55-year-old man—were all hospitalized in stable condition and receiving care.

We are monitoring the situation and our prayers are with everyone involved. Grateful for the immediate response by law enforcement. — Gov. Kim Reynolds

The facility sits directly across the street from one of the city’s main hospitals. The proximity allowed emergency responders to transport the injured rapidly. Meanwhile, Des Moines Public Schools temporarily restricted entry and exit at a nearby elementary school, welcome center, and nutrition center until police confirmed the suspect was in custody.

Past Postal Shootings Prompt Workplace Safety Studies

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service stated that it is investigating the shooting alongside local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies.

Incidents at postal facilities historically draw scrutiny regarding employee safety. In 1986, a disgruntled worker killed 14 coworkers in Edmond, Oklahoma, before taking his own life. Five years later in 1991, a fired worker killed four former colleagues in Royal Oak, Michigan. Those tragedies prompted postal officials to commission a 2000 study examining workplace violence during an era when the phrase “going postal” entered everyday language. That report recommended measures to flag violent tendencies while concluding that postal employees were statistically less violent than the broader national workforce. Further attacks occurred subsequently, including a 2006 shooting in Goleta, California, where a former worker killed six employees at a sorting facility before ending his own life.