Armed man robs Northeast Philadelphia post office

NORTHEAST PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Police and US Postal Service officials are investigating an armed robbery of a Northeast Philadelphia post office.

The holdup happened just before 4:30 p.m. Thursday at the US Post Office located on the 6300 block of Castor Avenue.

Police say the male suspect was armed with a gun.

"He enters the post office rather calmly, goes up to the counter rather calmly, and proceeds to rob," US Postal Inspector Reggie Wade said.

Brandishing a weapon, he demands anything of value including cash, cashier's checks, and stamps.

"It's really ridiculous. It's a federal offense. He's going to mandatory federal time in prison now," Wade said.

The suspect is described as a black male, between 45 and 50 years old, with a gray beard. He was last seen wearing a bucket hat, plaid shirt and tan cargo shorts.

Police say he robbed the place and took off running.

None of the employees or customers inside were hurt.

"Safety and security of this office has been compromised and that's our top priority; we take this seriously and we will apprehend the individual responsible," Wade said.

Anyone with information is asked to call police.