PORTSMOUTH, Va. - — Tim Rein is back on his route delivering mail in Cradock after a scary encounter when three people robbed him.
"One came from behind me and [said], 'Give me your keys.' I couldn't tell them where it was because they had a choke hold on me, but they got my keys," Rein told News 3 Tuesday.
Another letter carrier was robbed shortly before Rein just up the road last Thursday.
Investigators say the three were wearing masks and at least one had a gun.
Rein said he was "just shaken up and right around here was a little sore because they grabbed [me] and the choking, it hurt," as he motioned to his neck.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is now offering up to a $50,000 reward for anyone providing information that leads to an arrest and conviction.
Rein says they stole keys from him, presumably to try and steal mail from apartment buildings.
"I knew what they were looking for. They reaching in and found what they were looking for. They thought they hit the jackpot," he said.
The number of robberies involving postal carriers surged by 78 percent between 2021 and 2022, according to the Associated Press.
The Post Master General recently told Congress he would soon be releasing a plan to address mail carrier safety.
While the incidents in Portsmouth are alarming, Rein is already back at work.
"This is my job and I'm not going to let nobody scare me from doing my job," he said. "I have a family to take care of."
