15 year old teen arrested in shooting death of Octavia Redmond Chicago postal worker dead, as authorities now seek to arrest other suspects involved in the ‘targeted’ shooting of wife and mother.
Illinois authorities have arrested a 15 year old Iowa boy in connection to the shooting murder of a 48 year old postal worker who was gunned down as she delivered mail on Chicago’s South side in July.
The boy, whose name has not been released and who now faces a murder charge was arrested in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, WBBM reported.
Octavia Redmond, 48, was shot multiple times while delivering mail on July 19 in Chicago’s West Pullman neighborhood. Despite the postal worker being rushed to hospital she was pronounced dead.
‘Targeted attack as other suspects sought’
Neighbors later claimed that they heard at least ten gunshots ring out.
Police released surveillance video of the shooting, showing the teen gunman getting into a stolen Dodge Durango before the shooting. A second video shows someone getting out of the Durango near the location of the shooting, running across the street and out of the camera view, then running back to the vehicle after firing off a volley of gunshots.
The vehicle was found abandoned and torched the next day.
Investigators revealed the boy’s cellphone showed him following the mail carrier’s route prior to gunning down the worker, WGN News reported.
Investigators also claimed the veteran postal worker who was a wife and mother was found with all of her possessions, suggesting that the attack was targeted and not a robbery.
Chicago police said investigators used footage from police and private cameras to identify the teen and trace his movements before and after the shooting, USA Today reported.
Investigators also received an anonymous tip identifying the suspect and, as of this week, were are searching for other people of interest in the case, police said.
No known motive
Family created a fundraiser to help with funeral expenses.
‘Octavia is the love of my life, and I don’t want to be in a world that she is not a part of,’ the victim’s husband, Demetrius Redmond, told USA Today.
Notice of the boy’s arrest led to a call for justice from the U.S Postal Service.
‘There is no place for this type of senseless violence,’ Ruth M. Mendonça, Inspector in Charge of the Chicago Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, said in a released statement. ‘When members of our postal family are targeted, postal inspectors will not rest until justice is delivered on behalf of the victims, their families, and our postal community.’
The teen suspect has since been extradited to Illinois and charged with first degree murder in Cook County Juvenile Court. The boy remains held in custody without bond and will return to court on November 1.
No murder motive was immediately known.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Chicago police at CPDTIP.com or the USPS 24/7 confidential hotline at 877-876-2455.
