JACKSON, Miss. – A Mississippi postal worker who was shot while delivering mail last week has died.
Sherry Ingold died at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson on Friday night, Postal Inspector Tony Robinson said.
Ingold was shot on Mississippi Highway 35 in Attala County northeast of Jackson on Jan. 16. The suspect was then shot by law enforcement.
Updates about Ingold’s condition and supportive messages were shared in a group on Facebook called Sherry’s Fight. On Friday night, the group shared news of the postal worker’s death.
In a Facebook post, her daughter, Kristy Ingold, wrote, “Mama I hope you’re dancing in the sky, I hope you’re singing in the angels choir, I hope the angels know what they have, I bet it’s so nice up in heaven since you arrived.”
Sherry Ingold was described in other social media posts as someone who “loves to laugh” with a “contagious smile” and beautiful personality.”
The local community rallied around Ingold by hosting prayer vigils, dressing in purple and placing purple bows along her mail route.
According to posts in Sherry’s Fight, Ingold had suffered a brain injury.
U.S. Postal Service spokeswoman Tracie Finley said in a statement, “The Postal Service is shocked and saddened by the events that occurred last week in the West, Mississippi area. We are especially grieving the loss of our postal family member, rural letter carrier Sherry Ingold, and we continue to keep her family in our thoughts.”
Ronald Dampeer, 28, has been arrested in the case, Robinson told WTVA. Dampeer is also accused of trying to kidnap a woman earlier on Jan. 16 froma grocery store near Kosciusko. That woman got away, according to Attala County Sheriff Tim Nail.
Dampeer then encountered Ingold along Mississippi Highway 35, where the sheriff said she was shot. It’s unclear where law enforcement shot Dampeer He was also taken to UMMC in Jackson for treatment.
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation said it was looking into the officer-involved shooting.
Contributing: Sarah Fowler of the Clarion Ledger, the Associated Press; follow Alissa Zhu on Twitter @AlissaZhur.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Postal worker Sherry Ingold dies after being shot delivering mail
