The United State Postal Inspection Service is offering reward worth up to $150,000 for information that leads to the arrest of a suspect who robbed a letter carrier at gunpoint in Mattapan on Oct. 18. It was the latest in a series of incidents targeting either letter carriers or mailboxes in recent months.

The most recent incident happened around 2:30 p.m. on a Wednesday afternoon on Stonecrest Road. Video surveillance shows an assailant approach a mail carrier from behind and hold a gun to the back of his head. According to a report by Boston25 News, the gunman grabbed the back of the victim’s neck, and demanded: “Just give me the... key.”

Letter carriers have been targeted before for so-called “master keys,” which are universal and open every blue box, as well as all green relay boxes and the privately locked mailboxes found in multi-family or multi-business buildings. In August, a mail carrier was robbed at gunpoint, allegedly for his keys and the mail he was carrying, on Whitfield Street near Codman Square. That incident is also under investigation by Boston Police and the US Postal Inspection Service.

The suspect in the Stonecrest Road incident is described as a Black male, around 6’2” tall and 220 pounds, in a dark-colored hooded sweatshirt and pants, and white sneakers. If you have any information that might assist the investigation, please call 1-877-876-2455 and ask for “law enforcement.” The USPIS says all information will be kept “strictly confidential.”

The ongoing pattern of mail thefts – which are federal crimes – was discussed at last month’s meeting of the Columbia-Savin Hill Civic Association, which has been tracking the problem for months. A USPS spokesperson told The Reporter that people take their mail – especially checks or payments or greeting cards – directly into a postal branch or give them directly to a mail carrier. Blue box use is particularly discouraged on weekends and at other times when the mail will sit for long periods of time without a collection.

“We’re doubling down on our efforts to protect our Postal employees and the security of the mail. We are hardening targets – both physical and digital – to make them less desirable to thieves and working with our law enforcement partners to bring perpetrators to justice,” said Postal Inspection Service Chief Gary Barksdale in a May press release.

Incidents of letter carrier robberies are on the rise across the nation, according to USPS. In FY22, 412 letter carriers were robbed on the job, and 305 incidents were reported in the first half of FY23. Additionally, USPS reported an increase in high volume mail theft incidents from mail receptacles like blue boxes: 38,500 in FY22 and more than 25,000 in the first half of FY23.