Fort Worth postal worker with gun arrested after ordering co-workers to ground

A U.S. postal worker faces an aggravated assault charge after taking a gun into the Riverside post office Monday morning and ordering co-workers to the ground, police officials say.

Police responded to a report of a person with a weapon about 7:45 a.m. at the post office at 400 N. Retta St.

The employee, identified by police as Jason Silmon, entered the building about 7:30 a.m. armed with a handgun, according to Cpl. Tracey Knight, a police spokeswoman.

“Silmon instructed the other employees to get on the ground, and approximately 11 people working at the time complied with his demand,” Knight stated in an email to the Star-Telegram. “After a few minutes, Silmon put the gun down and waited for police to arrive.”

Silmon, 27, was booked into jail early Monday afternoon. He faces aggravated assault charges.

Knight said police were trying to determine what prompted the incident.

Silmon has been a letter carrier since 2006, a U.S. postal inspector said in an email. Service at the station was not affected.

The suspect’s father, Robert Silmon, said he was caught off guard when a detective called him Monday morning and informed him of his son’s arrest.

“I don’t understand because Jason is not a problem,” Robert Silmon said. “He’s not violent in no kind of way.”

Robert Silmon said his son has worked for more than 10 years with the post office as a carrier.

He said his son had called him Friday to wish him a happy birthday. During their conversation, Robert Silmon said, his son mentioned that he was having an issue with some co-workers, which prompted him to leave work early Friday to cool off.

Robert Silmon said his son did not provide further details, only saying he didn’t understand why the employees were suddenly “tripping with him.”

“I told him, ‘Hey, just cool down and let it go. Don’t even worry about what other people are saying or doing. Don’t let that bug you. Just chill. Don’t even trip about it,’” Robert Silmon said.

Robert Silmon said his son, who lives in Arlington, has no criminal history. He said he hoped to visit his son in jail to learn more.

“He’s not a problem,” Robert Silmon said. “I don’t know what’s going on or what happened.”

This story was originally published April 20, 2015 at 12:37 PM with the headline "Fort Worth postal worker with gun arrested after ordering co-workers to ground."