Postal Worker Fired Shots In Mail Room In Montgomery: Official

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A 29-year-old postal employee was charged with two counts of attempted murder Friday 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 the Montgomery County Jail with bond set at $1 million.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. 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. Thursday. Witnesses said a supervisor yelled that a man had a gun, and employees scurried 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 incidents.

"The best news is that nobody was hurt and the local police responded quickly," Postal Service spokesman Tony Robinson said Friday. "Management quickly had the building evacuated, which helped minimize the potential threat to the people."

The post office, located on the city's east side one block away from Auburn University Montgomery, reopened Friday morning with counselors available to talk to employees, Robinson said.

___

Jeff Martin reported from Atlanta.

Comments

[LeftRightCenter]

09:03 PM on 12/05/2011

now where's that damn stamp...

[retrosdad]

08:05 PM on 12/04/2011

If anyone doubts that liberals, when they have control, will delete any thoughtful, convincing conservative comments, one only need post, or attempt to post, such comments here. I speak from personal experience.

[retrosdad]

11:05 PM on 12/04/2011

OK, I am honest and fair enough to be the first to admit that, by the moderator deciding to post my above criticism, it makes me look as if I making an untruthful accusation. However, in the last few days regarding some of my civil, polite and truthful posts a moderator discarded, that has proven my charge. I guess it depends on the individual moderator. Some apparently are honest and fair and some are not.

[minerva117]

09:04 AM on 12/06/2011

I happen to be a liberal who has been on this site for years and had many of my comments scrubbed, sometimes for no reason that I could discern. I have no idea whether the mods are "libs" or "cons" or even "bots", all I know is that sometimes posts get scrubbed by HP and it's a mystery to me why.

[retrosdad]

09:04 PM on 12/06/2011

minerva117, Are you sure you are a liberal? You come across as a observant, realistic, friendly kind of person.

[tmm77625]

12:01 AM on 12/04/2011

For those of you blaming supervisors, etc.and even Bush for workplace violence and murders, here are some FACTS:

http://sta­ts.bls.gov­/iif/oshwc­/cfoi/cfch­0009.pdf

1994, workplace fatalities­, 6632. Highest during the last 20 years. Clinton is President.
2008, workplace fatalities­, 5214, Bush is President. EVERY Bush year had FEW fatalities than any Clinton year. Apparently­, Bush was good for workplace safety.

2009 and 2010 each year had even fewer, around 4550 each year. So much for economic stress causing workplace violence.

In 2010, transporta­tion related accidents were the number one cause of fatalities at work, more than twice as many as workplace violence.

Except for 2007, workplace homicides accounted for fewer deaths in the workplace in EVERY year under Bush than under any year under Clinton. And the number or workplace homicides is even lower now. More people die at work due to falls than due to homicide. Workplace homicides have decreased 53% since 1994. Apparently­, Bush was good for reducing workplace violence.

BTW - MOST workplace homicides are not committed by workers. They are committed by robbers (38.3%) other assailants (32%) customers (10%) spouse/rel­ative (4%) and other people the victim knows (4.3%). Less than 1/8 are committed by current or former coworkers.

http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/wv09.pdf

[Veronix1617]

09:20 PM on 12/03/2011

It is shocking how an employee can get to that point of becoming disgruntled enough to cause violence at the workplace. Was management completely unaware that their employee was this upset or unhappy with the job and work conditions? Unless the person was severely unstable, maybe this could have been prevented. Thank goodness there were no injuries.

[tmm77625]

11:28 PM on 12/03/2011

Where does it say this person's problem was with work? At this point, for all you know he could have been wasted on meth and that's why he was shooting the place up.

[LadySusan56]

06:25 PM on 12/03/2011

The sad thing is....there are so many more out there like him. People are just losing it. They are at the end of their rope...and if they do not know a way to let go of their anger in other ways....this is what happens..or worse. The USA is becoming a very violent place. How hopeless a person must feel if they feel this is an answer. Common sense is down the drain. Seems like violent action and stupidity is what people are resorting to. How deeply disturbed this world is becoming...to a much larger degree then before.

[sugacan1]

05:51 PM on 12/03/2011

Sharon1122, "if you answer I will just delete it" OF COURSE ONLY YOUR OPINION COUNTS. PERHAPS DEALING WITH FOLKS LIKE YOU FOR 20 PLUS YEARS IS THE REASON YOUR MAILMAN IS DISGRUNTLED.
Try remembering everyone is human, just like you, delivering YOUR mail is not all this guy has to do in a day, and you are not the center of the universe...

[sharon1122]

05:43 PM on 12/03/2011

TO SUGARCAN1 You don't read what I wrote. I am saying there are many good mailmen I know but this is not a good one. Sleeps on the job, rude, yelling at people for no reason. I was walking by the mailboxes going to the office one day and I heard him swearing in there while putting mail in the boxes I guess He was saying I hate this D job and can't wait til retirement I will do only what I have to do til I am through with this. This is the rotten service we get and the kind of attitude we have to put up with. How would you like a check being torn in half because he just doesnt care. The bank wouldn't cash it the way it was and I had to go back to the company for them to issue another check but they said i had to wait a certain amount of days first before they issue another check. You might not be like that and many are very kind caring people but this is not one of them. You read only part of what I write and because of that if you answer I will just delete it. Please understand there are bad apples at every job and this is one of them.

[jbjg24m]

03:23 PM on 12/03/2011

"u just don't mess with a U.S. Male " uh huh !

[duke19]

12:04 PM on 12/03/2011

First of all , no one works for the Post office. Some may get paid by the Government to show up, but no works. It's a lazy persons , life no work job.

[mac2jr]

01:39 PM on 12/03/2011

You are so full of it. You should spend one day, just one, walking the streets delivering mail in good weather, you will learn an important lesson, then spend a day in the Northeasterner with -20 degree weather, 40 mph ice winds, and unshoveled walks.

After you do this, come back here and tell us all 'how no one works for the USPS and how lazy these people are'

[sharon1122]

02:11 PM on 12/03/2011

I don't know about all of them but I do know my postal carrier is extremely lazy and goofs off every chance he gets. He has senority so he gets away with it. So many have called to complain about his attitude and his laziness, even ripping things to stuff them in your box.

[bfeline103]

02:16 PM on 12/03/2011

If your postal carrier had any seniority he or she would not be out in the elements delivering mail. Nice try, but I feel confident that if you report this person something will be done.

[darkwaterz29]

10:44 AM on 12/03/2011

Hmm...let me guess. It was the gun's fault?

[tmm77625]

11:32 PM on 12/03/2011

No, clearly it was management's fault. And the banksters' fault. And Bush's fault. Couldn't possibly be the fault of the idiot who decided to shoot the place up.

[pete2polly]

09:17 AM on 12/03/2011

Look for a bunch more of this when the layoffs start.

[mhulgin]

08:18 AM on 12/03/2011

He wass pissed at someone. He had a Tude against a Super no dought !!

[voteRepub2012]

08:14 AM on 12/03/2011

They should pass out the pistols to the other employees to defend themselves them turn 'em back in at the end of their shift.

[carbinos]

06:07 AM on 12/03/2011

Ban anything that shoots bullets and buckshot. We need a seven day waiting period
on any kind of ammo.

[mhulgin]

08:19 AM on 12/03/2011

Get real will ya. What would that do ? Seven days later he guns e'm down, slows the process ?? Not even smart !!

[dterraman]

09:39 AM on 12/03/2011

don`t forget butterknives!

[whytry71]

05:11 AM on 12/03/2011

The employee is not all to blame. I worked for and supervised for the Postal Service. If the American public could see how employees are treated and talked to by most of the Postal supervision they would be horrified. Its awful that its comes to someone shooting at innocent people to get a point across when the superviors are encouraged to be mean to their employees!

[sugacan1]

06:42 AM on 12/03/2011

Agreed. I work at another post office in Montgomery. There are numerous employees who are in counseling now due to the stress caused by management here. I have been expecting something like this to happen eventually. I know a lot of people who are at the breaking point.

[Poets46]

07:42 AM on 12/03/2011

I spent 33 years working for the Postal Service. In all of those years, I worked under dozens of different supervisors. I could count the good supervisors on one hand! The rest were egotistical jerks who had no business supervising anyone. They received their promotions by sucking up to their immediate supervisor who attained his position the same way.

In my years, when I would hear of "another postal shooting", I would say to myself, "I don't condone it, but I certainly understand it."

The Postal Service, as it is constituted, is a horrible work environment! I place the reason for that straight at the feet of Postal "Mis-Management"!

[wiconov]

08:31 AM on 12/03/2011

I also worked at and retired from P.O. he probably had three people with ties on standing behind him watching his every move

[whytry71]

05:35 PM on 12/03/2011

Funny you should mention ties, I was fired from my job as a Postal supervisor after 12 years because I couldn't wear a tie due to anxiety attacks. I think it was also partly due to the fact I would not treat my employees like crap!