'Always ready with a prayer, a joke or a story': Aundre Cross, the Milwaukee postal worker killed, remembered

The U.S. Postal Service employee who was shot and killed Friday while delivering mail on the north side of Milwaukee has been identified as Aundre Cross.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service out of Chicago confirmed Cross' identity to the Journal Sentinel. The agency said Saturday it is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those involved in the homicide.

An agency spokesman said it would not be providing any additional information at this time. The Chicago-based agency will be coordinating with Milwaukee Police on the ongoing investigation.

A friend and former co-worker, who asked to be identified simply as Tia R., told the Journal Sentinel she worked with Cross, 44, for seven years before leaving the USPS in 2021 and that Cross had four children. 

"He was a mentor to everybody," she said. "He was always ready with a prayer, a joke or a story. He never let anybody leave (any situation) without a smile on their face."

Tia said she met Cross when the two worked out of the Teutonia postal station several years ago. They then worked together at the Hampton Avenue station.

"He has two postal families," she said. "Two groups of postal workers both past and present who are remembering him."

Aundre Cross remembered as a positive and caring person

Tia remembers Cross as a person who was always positive, always working to put a smile on someone's face "whenever they were grieving or going through something." She has many memories of "getting in trouble with him," she said jokingly.

"We would get in trouble because we sang 'Bananas in Pajamas' every morning at work," she said laughing. "Then, one time after that, he called me, whispering from the parking lot that the bumper had fallen off his mail truck and he wanted me to come out to put it back on.

"I was like, 'No, I'm not helping you with that. We just got in trouble for singing!" Tia said. "He always knew how important it was to have fun at work, especially on those shifts when you're working 12, 14 hours. We always said, 'you have to laugh to keep from crying.'"

Prior to his beat on Milwaukee’s northwest side, Cross was the postal worker for New Pitts Mortuary located at 2031 W. Capitol Drive in the Franklin Heights neighborhood.  

Owner Michelle Pitts said she is devastated over Cross' death. Although he left the area, he stayed in communication with Pitts as recently as last month.

“He was reaching out saying he missed the area and he wished that he was still over there," Pitts said. "He just was checking on me."

“He was a person that could light up the room," Pitts added. "When he walked in to deliver our mail, he would literally light the funeral home up because he was always so jolly. He was a man that loved God with everything in him. He was going to make sure he left some type of biblical message with you.”

It was a sad day when Cross left the neighborhood, Pitts said. She spoke about the connection a mail carrier can have with the community.

“Once you see that person, he became a part of — everyday, you see this person every single day — he became a part of us and when he was transferred, we really missed him so much,” Pitts said.

“But he would always reach out, sometimes he would even stop in, just to let us know that he was checking on us and seeing how we were doing. He wanted everybody to be happy. He had one of the biggest smiles on his face … I can see him smile right now. I don’t understand. I don’t understand what happened.” 

Postal workers have been concerned about safety, former co-worker said

Tia said those long shifts have been a concern for many postal workers who are concerned for their safety, something that has just been emphasized by Cross' death.

Tia said a main reason she left the postal service was that she felt unsafe carrying mail after dark. Cross was shot around 6 p.m. Friday, after the sun had already set.

"We've been working longer hours and mail volume has increased," Tia said. "I know the post office wants to be efficient, but I had to separate myself. I know a few other people who have left for similar reasons. We shouldn't be out there when it's dark; it's not safe."

Pitts echoed Tia's concern, saying she used to tell Cross that he shouldn’t be delivering the mail at night, and he would say “I got to do what I got to do.”

“I would say, 'Be safe, keep your eyes open,’ and he was just the kind of guy that trusted that everything would be OK,” Pitts said.

A link is also circulating on social media that reads, "We're in Mourning. Milwaukee, Wisconsin," that includes the USPS image and a black ribbon.

Fatal shooting happened in 5000 block of North 65th Street

The incident took place in the 5000 block of North 65th Street, according to Milwaukee Police. Cross was pronounced dead at the scene by the Milwaukee Fire Department.

As of Thursday, Milwaukee police reported 205 homicides, more than the 193 recorded in all of last year and the 190 reported in 2020, according to the latest data available on the department's crime statistics dashboard.

"The shooting death of a Milwaukee postal worker is alarming," Mayor Cavalier Johnson said in a statement Friday.  "My thoughts are with the victim's family and colleagues."

Police do not have anyone in custody. Anyone with information is asked to contact police at (414) 935-7360, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at (877)-876-2455, or to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at (414) 224-TIPS or P3 TIPS.

Jessica Van Egeren is a reporter with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She can be reached at jvanegeren@gannett.com.