Mail carrier Mary Granados was alone in her U.S. Postal Service truck when she was shot and killed by a gunman who hijacked the white vehicle in West Texas amid his frenzy of violence.
Granados, 29, was among seven people between the ages of 15 and 57 killed Saturday. An additional 22 were injured, including a toddler.
U.S. Postal Service officials said in a statement Sunday that they were “shocked and saddened” by the events, but were “especially grieving the loss of our postal family member.”
The shooting began with a routine traffic stop where the gunman opened fire on police, then took off in a gold car, shooting randomly for more than 10 miles (16 kilometers). At some point during the turmoil, the gunman abandoned the car and stole the postal vehicle, killing Granados. Police finally used a marked SUV to ram the mail truck outside a movie theater in Odessa to disable the vehicle. Police then killed the gunman.