Tuesday morning, at about 9:30 a.m., the officers of the River Grove Police Department responded to a report in a residential area of the Village of River Grove.
A postal worker in a suburb of Chicago was reportedly the target of an attempted robbery, which was halted by an individual who was armed and present.
An eyewitness in the vicinity described the event on Tuesday and said he heard what sounded like a series of bangs, and then his mom screamed, “Tell me those weren’t gunshots.”
Upon arrival, the police discovered that a worker for the United States Postal Service had been confronted by an armed suspect who had demanded the worker’s keys.
According to witnesses who talked to local media, the postal carrier was carrying out the demand, but an armed witness intervened and fired at the perpetrator during the incident.
NBC Chicago reports that the police said there was an exchange of words and firearms during the incident. The male suspect raced back to the car that had dropped him off, and the vehicle sped off along River Road toward the north.
Two sisters who live in the area claimed that their mother let the postal worker enter their house after the shots were fired. They said that he appeared to be disturbed by the event.
The witness said her mother regularly conversed with the mailman, so she needed to check on his health and invited him inside her home. NBC Chicago was told by the eldest of the two sisters that he is a frequent visitor to this location.
She said he was in a state of tremendous agony and terror. The other sister said that he appeared to be quite anxious.
The sisters said their area is typically very peaceful, so when they heard the gunshots, they interpreted them as fireworks instead.
Neither the attempted robbery nor the gunshots resulted in any casualties, and the postal van was not seized during the incident.
The inquiry is being conducted jointly by the authorities in the affected community and the United States Postal Inspection Service.
Investigators strongly suspect that four people were engaged in the failed attempt at robbing the business. These suspects are believed to be armed and dangerous.
