Mail carrier attacked on the job in Gardena neighborhood, video shows

GARDENA, Calif. (KABC) -- A mail carrier in Gardena was assaulted in a seemingly unprovoked attack caught on video.

Bruce Jennings, who has worked 20-plus years for the U.S. Postal Service, was assaulted Feb. 21 by a man with a decades-long criminal history that includes assault with a deadly weapon and burglary.

Jennings said the man was upset that he didn't have a package for him, and that he was asking for it to be delivered to a vacant home where he was allegedly squatting.

Surveillance video shows the suspect exchange words with Jennings and gesture as if he was going to punch him. As Jennings walks away, the suspect suddenly punches him in the back of his head.

"I'm dropping the mail, and at that point it was defense mode for me," Jennings told Eyewitness News.

The two men then circle each other as mail lays scattered on the street.

The suspect reaches for his pocket before throwing more punches that took Jennings to the ground.

"Prior to that, as I was approaching him, he is telling me he could do me foul. I don't know what that means," Jennings said.

Jennings said he's seen the suspect in the neighborhood before. Neighbors say they also know the suspect.

"The entire community knows about this guy, knows him by his first and last name: John Ross," neighbor Garrett Rodriguez.

The suspect was arrested last week for breaking into another home and is still in custody. Neighbors want to keep it that way. They don't feel safe with the thought of him coming back, and they hate thinking about what happened to Jennings.

"He's the first one that greets you when you move here," neighbor Derek Martin said. "We all came together because Bruce is someone who goes above and beyond the call of duty with his job. He's just a guy you hate to see this happen to."

Jennings says he's OK - physically and mentally. He appreciates the neighborhood's support and will carry on in the meantime.

He said he's waiting to hear back from the Postal Inspection Service, and he wants justice.

Eyewitness News reached out to the Postal Inspection Service, which says they recently presented a case for prosecution to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Assaulting a federal officer is a felony.