KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Update (6/14): The Knoxville Police Department has released pictures of the gunman who demanded a mail carrier's master key on Saturday.
You can view the pictures below.
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Knoxville police are investigating after a gunman demanded a mail carrier's "arrow," or master key, Saturday as he put mail in apartment complex boxes, according to a report.
The robbery occurred around 3 p.m. Saturday. Authorities responded to the 5200 block of Rockcrest Road in Fountain City, according to Scott Erland, spokesman for the Knoxville Police Department.
The U.S. Postal Service carrier told police he was approached by a young man in a hoodie, pants and gloves who showed him a handgun and demanded the arrow key, a report states. When the carrier asked him if he really wanted to do that, the suspect said he was compelled to because a family member was in peril, according to a report.
He then told the carrier to just give him a key to make it appear like he'd gotten the arrow key, the report states.
"The victim ultimately complied and gave him a key, which the suspect fled with on foot towards Cedar Lane," Erland said, quoting a Knoxville Police Department report.
According to the USPS, the universal or arrow key is used to access collection boxes, outdoor parcel lockers, cluster box units and apartment panels. They're routinely assigned to carriers who handle thousands of daily delivery and collection routes.
According to a 2020 report by the USPS Office of Inspector General, the keys are supposed to be turned in at the end of every day. Key usage is supposed to be logged and tracked. Employees must report missing, lost, or stolen keys to the Postal Inspection Service immediately, according to the audit.
"It's a fairly quiet neighborhood," Caleb Wilson, a homeowner in the area, said. "Don't really have a whole lot of incidents over here. We have had a few but nothing like this. So pretty stunned by the report. And really like the mailman so ticked off that somebody would mess with him."
