INDIANAPOLIS — The U.S. Postal Service is investigating after a postal worker in Indianapolis got attacked and robbed on the job.
That crime has also had a lasting impact for neighbors on the south side: no mail delivery for months.
At the Regency Park Apartments, near U.S. 31 and Epler Avenue, Mondays are now "mail run" days for hundreds of residents.
"Once a week, because the mail is not working," resident Emerson Vasquez said.
"I make it over there about once a week," added resident Shaniece Graves, "just because of my busy schedule, not having time after work."
And it's been going on for months.
Mailboxes are empty, all locked up.
No bills, no letters, nothing is being delivered through the USPS onsite.
The post office is now requiring in-person pickup two miles away at the Southport USPS location for people who live in the apartment complex.
Neighbors say it's a major headache, especially for people who can't drive, like Brittney Wratten's home health care patient.
"She can't get her mail. Bills are late. And I took it upon myself and said, 'Well, I'll make trips,' and then, she has other friends that are disabled in the community," Wratten said. "With people that are disabled and can't get out to get their mail and don't have home health aides or caregivers like me, it's ... it's appalling."
So too, she said, is the reason for suspended service: a violent attack on a postal worker while running his route.
"A mail carrier was jumped and robbed, right here," Wratten said. "And they haven't been able to get anyone out here to deliver the mail because everybody's scared."
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service confirms the assault happened during delivery on Dec. 13.
A U.S. postal inspector sent 13News the following statement:
"The attack was directly related to the carrier’s official duties. The assailant made additional threats to the letter carrier. The decision was made to suspend mail delivery for that area in the interest of the carrier’s safety while the investigation is ongoing. Residents were informed that their mail is available for pick up at the post office."
Wratten believes fear is a real problem in that particular area. She said it's just not safe for mail carriers – and for her fellow nurses, too.
"I don't think it is," she said. "We've gone through caregivers fearing for their safety."
The crime against the postal worker remains unsolved.
And so two months later, neighbors are still making mail runs waiting for service to return.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Postal Service tells 13News mail delivery will resume pending the outcome of the assault investigation.