Postal employee shot 2 co-workers at an Iowa post office before being
captured, police say
[November 06, 2026]
By HANNAH FINGERHUT
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A female postal worker shot two female
co-workers at the main post office in Iowa’s capital city Thursday
before being captured nearby and faces attempted murder charges,
authorities said.
Jennifer Christine Pledger, 39, of West Des Moines, stood above one
woman who she had shot and fired again, police said, and continued
firing as she fled the building.
A male employee was injured in a fall while trying to escape. None of
the injuries were believed to be life-threatening, according to police.
“They’re all at the hospital. They are being cared for right now,” Des
Moines police Sgt. Paul Parizek said of the victims, who included two
women, 45 and 53, and a 55-year-old man. All were in stable condition.
Pledger is being charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts
of willful injury causing serious injury and intimidation. Attempts by
The Associated Press to reach possible relatives were unsuccessful and
information was not immediately available on an attorney who could speak
on her behalf.
The shooting happened on the facility’s second floor, in an area not
accessible to the public. Witnesses reported hearing 10 to 12 shots, he
said.
Parizek said officers responded within three minutes and quickly
captured Pledger, who was detained along a nearby bike path without
resistance. A 9 mm handgun was recovered where she was detained.
Police began receiving calls about the shooting around 9:10 a.m., and
the suspect was detained at 9:21 a.m., Parizek said.
The post office is just north of downtown Des Moines and across the
street from one of the city’s main hospitals.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service said in an email
that it was investigating the shooting along with local, state and
federal law enforcement.
Gov. Kim Reynolds said she was in contact with the Department of Public
Safety regarding the shooting.
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Police officers stand outside of a post office in Des Moines, Iowa,
Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
“We are monitoring the situation and our prayers are with everyone
involved,” she posted online. “Grateful for the immediate response
by law enforcement.”
Des Moines Public Schools said the district’s nearby elementary
school, welcome center and nutrition center temporarily barred
anyone from entering or leaving the facilities due to the shooting.
Those restrictions were lifted after police told them the suspect
was in custody.
Past shootings at postal facilities have prompted the Postal Service
to study employee safety.
In 1986, a disgruntled postal worker went on a deadly rampage at a
post office in Edmond, Oklahoma, shooting 14 fellow workers before
killing himself. In 1991, a fired postal worker killed four former
co-workers at his former post office in Royal Oak, Michigan, before
killing himself. After those and other shootings, postal officials
commissioned a study released in 2000 to examine workplace violence
around the time that the term “going postal” was becoming
conversational.
The report issued several recommendations to flag violent tendencies
while concluding that “going postal” was a myth and that postal
employees are less violent than the national workforce.
Other attacks have occurred since the report, including a 2006
shooting in Goleta, California, where a former postal worker stormed
into a sorting facility and fatally shot six workers before killing
himself.
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Associated Press writers R.J. Rico in Atlanta and Jamie Stengle in
Dallas contributed to this report.
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