A postal employee recently heard a noise that sounded like a car backfiring — but the boom turned out to be something much more serious.
After Letter Carrier Noreen Mintken heard the loud noise, two kids ran around the corner near the area where she was delivering mail.
“They have a gun! They’re shooting!” the boys screamed.
Mintken told them to follow her, and they sought shelter behind a building.
She recalled that up to seven more shots rang out amid yelling, followed by tires squealing, then silence.
The boys wanted to go see what had happened, but Mintken told them they should let her walk them to the nearby Boys & Girls Club.
“I just wanted to be sure they were OK,” said Mintken, who learned from a police officer that she and the boys were only about 50 feet away from the gunfire.
“My boss said I was a hero, but I didn’t really think much of it,” she said. “I just did what I thought was right.”