USPS employee charged with attempted murder in Iowa shooting

Nov. 6 (UPI) -- A U.S. Postal Service employee in Iowa was charged with attempted murder Friday following a shooting that injured three people.

Police said suspect Jennifer C. Pledger, 39, shot a group of her co-workers Thursday in a non-public part of the downtown Des Moines post office.

The three injured people are expected to survive.

Pledger is charged with several felonies, including attempted murder, willful injury and intimidation with a dangerous weapon, CNN reported.

She was in court Friday for her first appearance and was held without bond.

Sgt. Paul Parizek, a Des Moines police spokesperson, said Pledger opened fire on a group of her coworkers during a team meeting, the Des Moines Register reported.

One female victim was struck and fell to the ground.

"Pledger then approached that victim, stood over her, and fired again," Parizek told reporters. "Pledger is then described as firing in the direction of other employees as they fled the area of the shooting."

Parizek said the suspect continued firing as other postal service workers fled.

A motive for the shooting remains unclear.

"Motive is tough because, unless somebody tells us why they did what they did, we may not ever really have a solid answer for that," Parizek told reporters. "Right now, we don't have any answers about what the motive was."