US postal worker shot dead while delivering mail in Maryland

A mail carrier with the U.S. Postal Service was shot and killed Saturday night while making deliveries in Maryland.

Prince George's County Police identified the victim as Tyson Jerome Barnette, 26.  Police confirmed that he was a U.S. Postal Service employee on duty at the time of the murder, The Washington Post reported.

According to the Post, a resident of Reed Street in the Cheverly-Landover area of the county was returning home and noticed Barnette, who was not his regular carrier.

When the resident called to the worker, he received no response, the report said.

The homeowner went into his house with his mail and heard two or three gunshots a few minutes later, the Post reported.

When he looked outside, he told the Post, he said a Postal Service truck was on the street corner, but no carrier was to be seen.

Officer Harry Bond, a police spokesman, told the newspaper that Barnette died at the scene and no motive for the attack had been determined as of Saturday night.

A reward of up to $100,000 is being offered for information that leads to an arrest, MyFoxDC.com reported.

According to the Post, it is rare that carriers are killed while delivering on their routes.