MONTGOMERY, Ala. - A 29-year-old postal employee was charged with two counts of attempted murder yesterday after authorities said he used two guns to fire shots inside the main post office in Alabama’s capital city.
No one was injured in the shootings Thursday night.
Officials weren’t disclosing a motive or whether the employee was targeting any specific employee.
Officials said the employee, Arthur Lee Darby Jr., was in Montgomery County Jail with bond set at $1 million.
A spokeswoman for the US attorney’s office, Clark Morris, said the man showed up for work in the mail sorting area and began firing shots about 6:30 p.m.
Witnesses said a supervisor yelled that a man had a gun, and employees rushed outside.
Police took the man into custody within 10 minutes of getting a 911 call from the post office.
Police Chief Kevin Murphy said many officers were able to respond quickly because they were on holiday patrols at a nearby mall and shopping centers and many had special training on how to handle such cases.
“The best news is that nobody was hurt and the local police responded quickly,’’ Postal Service spokesman Tony Robinson said yesterday. “Management quickly had the building evacuated, which helped minimize the potential threat to the people.’’
The post office, on the city’s east side one block away from Auburn University Montgomery, reopened yesterday morning with counselors available to talk to employees, Robinson said.
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