Des Moines post office shooting hits home for worker of 64 years
By Pepper Purpura
Click here for updates on this story
DES MOINES, Iowa (KCCI) — As David Schick arrived for work Thursday afternoon, he expected to start another shift at the Des Moines post office where he had spent more than six decades.
Instead, he learned that two of his co-workers had been shot and a third employee was hurt while trying to escape. The shooting happened that morning at the U.S. Postal Service processing and distribution center at 1165 Second Ave. Police said none of the injuries were believed to be life-threatening. A 39-year-old woman was arrested nearby.
Schick said a neighbor texted him that there had been a shooting. He tried calling four different work numbers but couldn’t reach anyone. So he drove to the facility, arriving at the gate around the time he was scheduled to clock in at 3:30 p.m.
An officer at the entrance told him he couldn’t come inside because of the incident.
“I still got to go to work,” Schick said, describing what he thought as he headed to the post office.
Schick began working for the Postal Service on Sept. 23, 1963. He said he started at the downtown post office that stood between Court and Walnut streets, then moved to the current facility when it opened in 1970 or 1971. He said he has come to work there every day since.
He described himself as the most senior clerk in the country. At the Des Moines facility, co-workers call him “Grandpa Fix It” because he knows ZIP codes by memory and helps sort mail the machines can’t process.
“When the automation machines can’t handle it, it comes over to me and a couple other people,” he said. “And we can work the mail.”
Schick said he loves the job. When people ask when he’ll retire, he jokes, “Retirement is not in the Bible. You just work till you drop dead.”
He said he may retire soon, though he is getting help figuring out the paperwork.
The shooting visibly upset him. Asked about the emotion he was feeling, Schick paused and began to tear up.
“It upsets me,” he said. “This has been my life for 64 years, and there’s a lot of really good people, loving good people, working there.”
Then he smiled and added: “We’ve got to get the mail out.”
“I’ve got a job to do, to get the mail out,” he said.
Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.