Residents express mixed emotions as Seattle’s Postman store to close ‘indefinitely’

SEATTLE — There are mixed reactions in Seattle’s Central District to news that the Postman is closed indefinitely. But the widow of the murdered owner is giving some idea of what could happen next.

KeAnna Rose Pickett announced her decision to close after someone shot at the building early Friday morning. Just the day before, she helped lead a vigil marking the first anniversary of D’Vonne Pickett Junior’s murder.

Some of her neighbors are happy to see the Postman close.

The building owner said they told him they were too afraid to stay if the Postman stayed. No one was hurt in the shooting here early Friday morning. But yesterday, KeAnna Rose Pickett announced on social media that the Postman is closed, indefinitely.

“And they saw the post and were relieved to find out they would not be living above a commercial storefront that’s being targeted by people,” said Max Liebowitz, Madrona Company.

D’Vonne Pickett Junior’s murder shocked an entire community. The husband and father of three was a beloved activist. Family members say his alleged killer was a family friend who ambushed him outside the Postman at the end of a three-day shooting spree.

Ashton LeFall’s arrest is a source of consternation for Pickett’s grieving family. But the attacks at the Postman continued.

There’s been other isolated incidents,” said Joel Burrage, who lives in the building. “But as I said, there’s great people, great businesses.”

Burrage said he hates to see the Postman go.

“There’s gotta be a solution here somewhere,” he said.

It is a sad sight. The once thriving Postman postal service on Martin Luther King Junior Way has turned into a memorial after its owner was murdered a year ago, and the front of the building shot out a day after the devastating anniversary.

In a text, KeAnna Pickett said she is too afraid to return here. She is now working to turn the business over to her husband’s mother and sister. They will decide what the next step is.

As for the suspect in her husband’s murder. He remains in the King County Jail, awaiting trial.

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