Mailman's family breaks silence after father of 2 killed on lunch break
Jaia Cruz accused of stabbing USPS carrier Ray Hodge III in NYC deli
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A 24-year-old transgender New Yorker has been charged with murder for allegedly knifing a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier in the stomach while he was waiting in line to buy lunch.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) identified the victim as Ray Hodge III, a 36-year-old postal carrier and father of two. Police said he suffered multiple stab wounds after an argument broke out while the two were standing in line. He was on duty at the time of the attack.
"We are extremely hurt and saddened by the loss of my brother," his brother Ed Rice told Fox News Digital in the family's first public remarks. "He was a remarkable person and touched a lot of people in a positive manner. We have been silent in our grieving and are handling my brother’s affairs."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}USPS postal carrier Ray Hodge III delivers the mail in an undated family photo provided by his brother, Ed Rice. (Courtesy of Ed RIce)
He also shared a GoFundMe campaign to help the family cover funeral costs.
"Ray touched the lives of everyone he interacted with," the fundraiser reads. "Ray was a hardworking, honorable and good man whose life epitomized his values and his willingness to help others. Ray touched the lives of so many and we all are truly blessed to have known and had the opportunity to love him."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Hodge's suspected killer has been identified as Jaia Cruz, also known as Alvin. Video shows police escorting Cruz out of the NYPD's 28th Precinct on Thursday.
The 6-foot-4-inch suspect's face was hidden inside a sweatshirt, and Cruz did not respond to shouted questions from reporters.
Jaia Cruz, 24, in handcuffs and transported by the NYPD from the 28th Precinct after being charged with stabbing a USPS worker to death in a deli while working in Harlem. (Kyle Mazza/SOPA Images/Sipa USA)
Cruz allegedly spit in the victim's face then drove the knife into his stomach in a fight that broke out over their places in line, according to the New York Post.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The attack happened around 2:30 p.m. Thursday at a deli on Lenox Avenue in Harlem. Police found Hodge with multiple stab wounds to his torso, neck and arms, and he was rushed to Harlem Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
NYPD MAKES ARREST IN FATAL STABBING OF ON-DUTY POSTAL WORKER
Hodge's colleagues at the USPS remembered him as a "great, kind soul" on social media.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A flyer with information about the memorial services for USPS postal carrier Ray Hodge III, who was killed in a New York City stabbing Thursday while on his lunch break. (Courtesy of Ed Rice)
The suspect, Cruz, has a criminal record that includes prior acts of knife violence, including a mugging.
Cruz's attorney waived his client's right to appear Wednesday, and arraignment was scheduled for Jan. 22.
As the New York case moves forward, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Postal Service's law enforcement arm, is asking anyone with additional information on the case to call investigators at 1-877-876-2455.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The NYPD has charged Jaia Cruz in the fatal stabbing of a USPS worker inside a Harlem deli on Thursday afternoon. (Peter Gerber)
"The Postal Inspection Service takes matters involving the safety and well-being of postal service employees as a top priority," a USPIS spokesperson told Fox News Digital. "We are working diligently with the New York City Police Department on this investigation."
The slaying comes months after Chicago police arrested a 15-year-old boy in connection with the ambush murder of a mail carrier in the Windy City. Octavia Redmond, 48, was killed on July 19 when the teen allegedly jumped out of a stolen SUV and opened fire, according to the USPIS.
She was also on duty at the time.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jaia Cruz is suspected of stabbing the USPS employee multiple times during an argument at a deli in Harlem where the mail carrier was waiting to buy lunch. (Kyle Mazza/SOPA Images/Sipa USA)
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"We know that we have to continue delivery every day. That's the motto: rain, sleet or snow we go," one of her colleagues, Elise Foster, told FOX 32 Chicago at the time. "We don't do bullets. We can't do them."
The NYPD has charged Jaia Cruz in the fatal stabbing of a USPS worker inside a Harlem deli on Thursday afternoon. (Peter Gerber)
Fox News' Louis Casiano and Julia Bonavita contributed to this report.