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The U.S Postal Service has temporarily halted delivery for residents in a section of Glassell Park after a postal worker was almost struck by a bullet last month.
CBS 2 reports that the shooting in question occurred on June 27 in the 3400 block of Drew Street. A letter carrier delivering mail on the street at the time was almost hit by a bullet. USPS suspended mail delivery to the 3300 to 3400 block of Drew Street the following day.
"Currently, these residents are being required to pick up their mail at the Glassell Park Station," USPS spokesperson Evelina B. Ramirez told LAist in an email. "We are communicating with the Los Angeles Police Department and local representatives on the situation that occurred when a USPS Letter Carrier was nearly hit by bullets at that location."
"Our primary goal is to ensure the safety of our employees while providing service to our customers. We are reviewing all options to come up with the best resolution," Ramirez continued.
"It was just too dangerous for our carriers to be in that area," the postal worker who answered the phone at the Glassell Park Station post office told LAist.
Drew Street has been "a hot spot of gang activity over the years," according to Eastsider LA, although crime in the area has dropped significantly in recent years.
"It used to be a very dangerous street," LAPD Sgt. Ruben Arellano of Northeast division told LAist. "It's not nearly as bad as it was back in, say, 2007 or 2008. Crime in that area has dropped dramatically," Arellano said, attributing the decline in crime to the work of a multi-agency task force.
Arellano said that Drew Street is still considered to be the territory of the Avenues gang. According to the L.A. Times, Glassell Park has been at the center of Avenues activity since the gang formed in the 1950s. In 2009, a single-family home on the 3300 block of Drew Street considered to be at the center of gang activity and drug trade in the neighborhood was demolished by the city.
According to Arellano, stopping mail delivery is an extremely rare occurrence. "This is the first time I've heard of anything like this in my career," he said. Arellano has been with the LAPD for 22 years.
Related: The Drew Street House Destroyed: Praised and Criticized
