Is the murder of a Milwaukee US Postal Service worker part of a larger trend of increased armed robberies against postal workers nationwide?

Robberies of postal carriers totaled 496 in 2022, quadrupling over a decade, the Associated Press reported on May 8, 2023.

Weapons were used in most of the robberies, according to AP News.

The 2022 robbery victims included Milwaukee letter carrier Aundre Cross, who was shot to death Dec. 9, 2022 in what federal investigators describe as a targeted attack. Two men are charged in his murder. Two women also were charged with crimes in connection with the case.

Many of the crimes are becoming more sophisticated and organized, some targeting the special keys that carriers use to access collection boxes and to deliver mail in apartment buildings, AP reported.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, who represents Milwaukee, asked the postmaster general to create a task force to combat the robberies.