DES MOINES, Iowa — Two women who work at the main post office in Des Moines were shot Thursday morning, allegedly by a co-worker who was arrested minutes later on a bike trail nearby.
Police named her Thursday afternoon. She is Jennifer Pledger, 39, of West Des Moines, and she works for the Postal Service too, the Des Moines Register reported, citing Sgt. Paul Parizek. The charges are two counts of attempted murder, two counts of willful injury causing serious injury and one count of intimidation with a dangerous weapon — all felonies. Pledger was in the Polk County Jail.
It started, police say, with 911 calls at about 9:10 a.m. Shots had been fired upstairs, on the second floor at 1165 Second Ave., in a part of the post office the public does not enter. One caller used the words “active killer.” Early on, police put the number of shots at somewhere between 10 and 12.
Witness and victim statements indicate Pledger opened fire on a group of Postal Service employees, Parizek said. One woman fell after she was hit. She then fired toward other employees as they ran, according to Parizek.
“Pledger then approached that victim, stood over her, and fired again,”
One of the women who was shot is 45, the other 53. The third person hurt, a man of 55, fell as he tried to get away. Nothing Parizek saw suggested any of the injuries were life-threatening, he said, and by the afternoon all three were stable. The two women got themselves across the street to MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center. A police officer drove the man. Their names have not been released.
Pledger left the building before the first officers arrived at about 9:13 a.m., Parizek said. Witnesses pointed her out to officers, and she was arrested without incident at 9:21 a.m. on a bike trail east of the post office. Police recovered a 9 mm handgun where she was taken into custody.
Police do not know what led to the shooting. Parizek said Pledger had made no comments about a possible motive.
The first officer reached the post office about three minutes after the calls came in, and the whole incident lasted about 11 minutes. Officers swept the building for other victims. Nearby Carver Elementary School and two school district buildings were placed in a secure status from 9:20 to 10 a.m. Second Avenue reopened around 10:45 a.m., though the post office stayed closed and a large police presence remained.
Des Moines police are leading the investigation. The FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service are helping, and Parizek said federal agencies from Kansas City were on their way to assist.
Mayor Connie Bosen thanked officers for what she called a rapid response and “a decisive end to a dangerous situation.” “Our concern now is for the wellbeing of those injured and all others impacted by this senseless act of violence in our city,” Bosen said in a statement.
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