DES MOINES, Iowa —

Authorities say a 39-year-old woman shot two female coworkers at the main post office in Des Moines and fled the scene before being captured nearby. A third employee was injured in a fall while trying to escape Thursday morning’s shooting. None of the injuries are believed to be life-threatening.

Here’s what we know:

First reports, rapid response

Sgt. Paul Parizek, spokesperson for the Des Moines Police Department, said the first 911 calls came in around 9:10 a.m., with reports of 10 to 12 shots fired on the second floor of the United States Postal Service facility, located at 1165 Second Avenue in Des Moines. This is a processing and distribution plant for the USPS.

“We had the first officer on scene within three minutes,” he said. “And the suspect was detained at 9:21” less than a half-mile away, along the bike trail that runs under Interstate 235.

He called the response “massive,” with DMPD receiving help from local agencies including Altoona, Iowa State Patrol, Pleasant Hill, Polk County Sheriff’s Office and West Des Moines. Federal officers from the ATF, FBI and U.S. Postal Inspectors were also involved.

Watch: Police say suspected shooter was employee at USPS

Victims

Two female postal workers, ages 53 and 45, who were shot transported themselves to nearby MercyOne Medical Center. A 55-year-old postal employee was injured in a fall while he fled from the shooting. A Des Moines police officer transported the man to Mercy.

The shooting happened in an area of the postal facility not accessible to the public.

None of the injuries are believed to be life-threatening, police said.

MercyOne released a statement saying, “Due to its privacy regulations and respect for the privacy of the people it serves, the hospital does not comment on specific clinical cases.”

Emergency calls captured the tense moments as the situation unfolded. “I’m at Mercy Hospital, I’ve got a shooting victim who just came into Mercy,” one caller said. Another added, “I have one victim that’s coming through the front door on the east side.” Police later reported, “Officer’s out with the suspect underneath the bridge. Unit 91, she is detained, there’s plenty of people here.”

A press conference is scheduled for Friday morning at 10 a.m. at the Des Moines Police Department, where officials may provide more information about the incident.

Suspect

The suspected shooter is 39-year-old Jennifer Christine Pledger, of West Des Moines, who works at the postal facility, according to a news release from DMPD. Officers detained her about a half-mile away from the shooting scene along a bike trail under the Interstate 235 bridge.

“A 9mm handgun was recovered by law enforcement at the scene where the suspect was detained,” police said in a Thursday afternoon news release.

“There’s been no statements about motive,” Parizek said.

Pledger has been charged with two counts of attempted murder, a Class B felony; two counts of willful injury causing serious injury, a Class C felony; and one count of intimidation with a dangerous weapon, a Class C felony.

Watch: KCCI’s Eric Hanson on scene where suspected shooter was arrested after post office shooting

Nearby school went into ‘secure status’

When notified by police about the shooting around 9:20 a.m., Des Moines Public Schools officials put nearby Carver Elementary School, the DMPS Welcome Center and the Central Nutrition Center into “secure status,” where no one is allowed in or out of the building. It was lifted about 30 minutes later.

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‘Education Day’ continued at Casey’s Center

The post office is located less than a mile north of Casey’s Center, where hundreds of school children were at the Iowa Wild game for “Education Day.” Officials there say they were in constant communication with authorities and, due to the quick response by the police, events went on as usual.

Officials react

Gov. Kim Reynolds posted on X that she was in contact with the Department of Public Safety regarding the shooting.

“We are monitoring the situation and our prayers are with everyone involved,” she wrote. “Grateful for the immediate response by law enforcement.”

Also on X, governor-elect Rob Sand said: “My thoughts are with the Iowans affected by this senseless act of violence. I will continue to monitor the situation & am thankful for the dedicated first responders who were able to respond quickly & ultimately save lives.”

Watch: Iowa leaders react to shooting at Des Moines post office

History of postal shootings

Past shootings at postal facilities have prompted the Postal Service to study employee safety.

In 1986, a disgruntled postal worker went on a deadly rampage at a post office in Edmond, Oklahoma, shooting 14 fellow workers before killing himself. After that shooting and others over the next decade, postal officials commissioned a study released in 2000 to examine workplace violence around the time that the term “going postal” was becoming conversational.

The report issued several recommendations to flag violent tendencies while concluding that “going postal” is a myth and that postal employees are less violent than the national workforce.

Road closures

Authorities closed Second Avenue in both directions for more than an hour after the shooting. Southbound traffic reopened around 10:30 a.m. and northbound lanes opened around 10:45 a.m.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this article.