Crime

Latest armed mail carrier robbery caught on video in Peabody

The suspect brandished a firearm and demanded the mail carrier’s postal box keys, police said.

By Abby Patkin

updated on January 5, 2023

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A North Shore mail carrier was robbed at gunpoint Wednesday afternoon, according to Peabody police.

The robbery happened just before 12:30 p.m. on Veterans Memorial Drive, and the suspect reportedly brandished a firearm and demanded the mail carrier’s postal box keys, police said.

The unidentified mail carrier told Boston 25 that he has delivered mail for nearly 28 years and has never felt intimidated on the job before. He described the robbery as a “horrible experience,” but said he plans to return to his normal route, according to Boston 25. 

Peabody resident Richard Campbell, whose security cameras captured the incident, told WCVB the mail carrier is “a super nice guy.”

“He’s always got a smile on his face,” Campbell said. “He always seems relaxed. I really hope the guy’s OK.”

Campbell told the news station that he has spoken with U.S. Postal Inspection Service agents. USPIS confirmed it is working with Peabody police and said the investigation is ongoing.

After another mail carrier was robbed at gunpoint in Melrose last month, a USPIS spokesperson told Boston.com that postal robberies are “exceedingly rare considering the number of daily contacts postal employees have with the public at over 31,000 Post Offices and more than 163 million delivery points.”

Two teens were later arrested and charged in the Melrose robbery. Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan’s office said the 16-year-old boys had allegedly gotten the idea to steal mail containing checks from TikTok and other sources. 

Peabody police described the suspect in Wednesday’s robbery as a man in his 20s with a skinny build, approximately 5 feet 8 inches in height. He was wearing a puffy black jacket, yellow hooded sweatshirt, and blue face mask and fled in a gray Honda, police said. 

Anyone with information is asked to contact Det. Mathew Mason at 978-538-6369 or Det. Andrew Greenberg at 978-538-6313.