Overview
- The shooting took place Thursday during a morning huddle on the second floor of the USPS processing and distribution facility at 1165 Second Avenue, where witnesses reported 10–12 shots.
- Officers arrived within minutes and detained 39-year-old employee Jennifer Christine Pledger along a nearby bike path at about 9:21 a.m., recovering a 9mm handgun at the scene where she was held.
- Three postal employees were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries—two women were shot and a man was hurt fleeing—and all are listed in stable condition at MercyOne hospital.
- Pledger has been charged with multiple felonies, including two counts of attempted murder, was booked into Polk County Jail without bail, and the Des Moines Police are leading an active investigation aided by the FBI, ATF and U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
- The attack has left coworkers shaken, prompted temporary road closures and school secure status, and renewed questions about how workplaces spot and respond to threat warning signs and provide employee support.