Police in Palo Alto are investigating after a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier was injured and robbed on Wednesday by two suspects who took her postal keys and cellphone.
The strong-arm robbery took place about 2 p.m. in the 3400 block of Alma Street.
The mail carrier, a woman in her 50s, was delivering mail when two men approached and demanded her postal keys, according to Palo Alto police.
When she refused, one of the suspects pushed her to the ground. The suspects took her keys and phone and then fled on foot.
The mail carrier suffered a chipped tooth, facial swelling and pain to her wrist as a result of being shoved to the ground, police said.
She was treated at the scene by paramedics from the Palo Alto Fire Department.
Police detectives are working with the United States Postal Inspection Service to investigate the robbery.
“Unauthorized possession of a postal key is a federal crime, a conviction of which can land someone in prison for up to ten years,” police said in a news release.
The United States Postal Inspection Service encourages anyone who knows the location of any stolen postal keys or who has information about any robberies of mail carriers to contact their 24-hour hotline at 877-876-2455. They offer a reward of up to $150,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of any suspects.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Palo Alto police 24-hour dispatch center at 650-329-2413. Anonymous tips can be e-mailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent via text message or voice mail to 650-383-8984.