Chattanooga’a main post office was closed down for a day earlier this week after an argument between employees turned violent.
“Effective immediately, all operations at the Chattanooga, TN, Main Post Office, Chattanooga Finance Station and Chattanooga P&DC are temporarily suspended until further notice,” said a United States Postal Service (USPS) press release from Monday.
According to several reports, two men died after an altercation turned violent.
Cody Ransom, a 30-year-old post office employee, had a dispute with a coworker, 27-year-old Brian Simmons. Simmons reportedly shot and killed Ransom before fleeing the scene, driving for several miles before ultimately crashing into a retail establishment.
Police found Simmons dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
“Cody was an all-around good person. We were all pushing for him to be a supervisor and we are all saddened that his life was cut short before that could happen. Out of the many years that he and I have worked together, I can’t remember him saying anything against anyone,” the Chattanooga Postal Workers Union said in a statement. “What happened to Cody was undeserving and we can only imagine what his family is going through. Please pray for Cody’s family and his Postal brothers and sisters.”
Tuesday, the post office was reopened for business.
“Effective immediately, all operations at the Chattanooga, TN, Main Post Office, Chattanooga Finance Station and Chattanooga P&DC have resumed its normal operations,” said a separate USPS release.
USPS did not return a Wednesday comment request seeking to learn whether the investigation is ongoing.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Chattanooga Post Office” by Jimmy Emerson, DVM. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
