WASHINGTON—William H. Young, president of the 300,000-member National Association of Letter Carriers, today issued the following statement regarding the death of letter carrier John “Marty” Thiels in a shooting incident Thursday as he delivered mail to an Alexandria, Louisiana law office. Marty was a 29-year veteran of the Postal Service and a member of NALC Branch 932 in Alexandria:

“This is a senseless tragedy for Marty Thiels’ family, his fellow NALC members in Alexandria and the entire postal community.

“Marty was just delivering the mail as on any normal day. Unfortunately, letter carriers across the nation are often confronted with unforeseen dangers as they go along their postal routes. These dangers sometimes include violent criminal acts such as occurred in Alexandria, Louisiana.

"Our deepest sympathy goes out to Marty’s family and friends as they try to cope with this horrible action.”