The U.S. Postal Service worker who was shot and killed Friday whereas delivering mail on the north aspect of Milwaukee has been recognized as Aundre Cross.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service out of Chicago confirmed Cross’ id to the Journal Sentinel. The company stated Saturday it’s providing a reward of as much as $50,000 for data resulting in the arrest and conviction of these concerned within the murder.
An company spokesman stated it might not be offering any extra data at the moment. The Chicago-based company will probably be coordinating with Milwaukee Police on the continued investigation. Cross was 44 and the daddy of 4 kids, based on Milwaukee police.
A good friend and former co-worker, who requested to be recognized merely as Tia R., advised the Journal Sentinel she labored with Cross for seven years earlier than leaving the USPS in 2021.
“He was a mentor to everyone,” she stated. “He was all the time prepared with a prayer, a joke or a narrative. He by no means let anyone depart (any scenario) and not using a smile on their face.”
Tia stated she met Cross when the 2 labored out of the Teutonia postal station a number of years in the past. They then labored collectively on the Hampton Avenue station.
“He has two postal households,” she stated. “Two teams of postal staff each previous and current who’re remembering him.”
Aundre Cross remembered as a constructive and caring individual
Tia remembers Cross as an individual who was all the time constructive, all the time working to place a smile on somebody’s face “each time they have been grieving or going by means of one thing.” She has many reminiscences of “getting in bother with him,” she stated jokingly.
“We might get in bother as a result of we sang ‘Bananas in Pajamas’ each morning at work,” she stated laughing. “Then, one time after that, he referred to as me, whispering from the car parking zone that the bumper had fallen off his mail truck and he wished me to return out to place it again on.
“I used to be like, ‘No, I am not serving to you with that. We simply obtained in bother for singing!” Tia stated. “He all the time knew how vital it was to have enjoyable at work, particularly on these shifts whenever you’re working 12, 14 hours. We all the time stated, ‘you need to snicker to maintain from crying.'”
Previous to his beat on Milwaukee’s northwest aspect, Cross was the postal employee for New Pitts Mortuary situated at 2031 W. Capitol Drive within the Franklin Heights neighborhood.
Proprietor Michelle Pitts stated she is devastated that Cross was killed. Though he left the realm, he stayed in communication with Pitts as lately as final month.
“He was reaching out saying he missed the realm and he wished that he was nonetheless over there,” Pitts stated. “He simply was checking on me.”
“He was an individual that would mild up the room,” Pitts added. “When he walked in to ship our mail, he would actually mild the funeral house up as a result of he was all the time so jolly. He was a person that beloved God with every part in him. He was going to ensure he left some sort of biblical message with you.”
It was a tragic day when Cross left the neighborhood, Pitts stated. She spoke concerning the connection a mail service can have with the neighborhood.
“When you see that individual, he grew to become part of — on a regular basis, you see this individual each single day — he grew to become part of us and when he was transferred, we actually missed him a lot,” Pitts stated.
“However he would all the time attain out, typically he would even cease in, simply to tell us that he was checking on us and seeing how we have been doing. He wished everyone to be completely satisfied. He had one of many largest smiles on his face … I can see him smile proper now. I don’t perceive. I don’t perceive what occurred.”
Postal staff have been involved about security, former co-worker stated
Tia stated these lengthy shifts have been a priority for a lot of postal staff who’re involved for his or her security, one thing that has simply been emphasised by Cross’ dying.
Tia stated a essential motive she left the postal service was that she felt unsafe carrying mail after darkish. Cross was shot round 6 p.m. Friday, after the solar had already set.
“We have been working longer hours and mail quantity has elevated,” Tia stated. “I do know the publish workplace needs to be environment friendly, however I needed to separate myself. I do know a number of different individuals who have left for comparable causes. We should not be on the market when it is darkish; it is not protected.”
Pitts echoed Tia’s concern, saying she used to inform Cross that he shouldn’t be delivering the mail at evening, and he would say “I obtained to do what I obtained to do.”
“I’d say, ‘Be protected, preserve your eyes open,’ and he was simply the sort of man that trusted that every part can be okay,” Pitts stated.
A hyperlink can also be circulating on social media that reads, “We’re in Mourning. Milwaukee, Wisconsin,” that features the USPS picture and a black ribbon.
Deadly taking pictures occurred in 5000 block of North sixty fifth Avenue
The incident befell within the 5000 block of North sixty fifth Avenue, based on Milwaukee Police. Cross was pronounced useless on the scene by the Milwaukee Fireplace Division.
As of Thursday, Milwaukee police reported 205 homicides, greater than the 193 recorded in all of final 12 months and the 190 reported in 2020, based on the most recent information out there on the division’s crime statistics dashboard.
“The taking pictures dying of a Milwaukee postal employee is alarming,” Mayor Cavalier Johnson stated in an announcement Friday. “My ideas are with the sufferer’s household and colleagues.”
Police do not need anybody in custody. Anybody with data is requested to contact police at (414) 935-7360, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at (877)-876-2455, or to stay nameless, contact Crime Stoppers at (414) 224-TIPS or P3 TIPS.
Jessica Van Egeren is a reporter with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She might be reached at [email protected].