Court records describe how an ordinary delivery bottleneck escalated into a disputed confrontation that cost a postal carrier an eye.
EVERETT, Wash. — The mailroom at the center of a federal attempted-murder case was so confined that opening its mailbox panels left only a narrow route through the space, according to court records describing the moments before a delivery driver allegedly shot a postal carrier.
That physical setting now forms one of the clearest points of agreement in otherwise conflicting accounts of the Oct. 3, 2025, confrontation at the West Mall Place Apartments. The U.S. Postal Service carrier was sorting mail. Blake Michael Kuhlman was bringing packages into the building while working for an Amazon delivery service partner. Both men entered the same restricted area, an argument followed, and each side says the other initiated the physical encounter. Kuhlman acknowledged firing the shot but said he acted in self-defense. Federal prosecutors accuse him of attempting to murder a federal employee.
The mailroom was not simply a public hallway, according to the federal complaint. When the carrier opened the banks of mailboxes from the rear to place letters inside, the equipment occupied much of the available space. The apartment complex had allowed a sign to be posted so residents and other delivery workers would know to use another entrance while postal work was underway. The arrangement was meant to reduce crowding and protect a work area containing open mail compartments. The carrier told investigators that the practice had been in place during the six years he served the route.
On most days, the carrier said, drivers approaching the room would ask how long he needed. They would either wait or carry their parcels around to another door. He reported having many earlier encounters with Amazon drivers without a serious problem. Kuhlman, however, was unfamiliar to him. The carrier told investigators he had never seen Kuhlman before and knew of no earlier dispute that could explain the conduct he encountered that afternoon.
According to the carrier, the sound of a delivery vehicle alerted him that another driver had arrived. He said Kuhlman propped open the door despite the posted notice. The carrier called out that no one was permitted to pass through while he was delivering mail. Kuhlman allegedly continued collecting his packages and approached the narrow opening. The carrier said Kuhlman appeared to smirk before moving through the space and pushing him back several feet.
The carrier acknowledged responding physically. He told investigators that he pushed Kuhlman after being shoved and demanded that Kuhlman take his hands off him. The carrier’s account places the gunshot immediately after that exchange. Prosecutors say Kuhlman drew a .22 Magnum revolver and fired once at the carrier’s face. The wounded man fell and later told investigators that Kuhlman stood over him for several seconds. The carrier survived emergency treatment but permanently lost an eye.
Kuhlman’s account begins from a different point in the sequence. According to police documents, he said the postal carrier pushed him first and then appeared ready to charge him. He described himself as cornered and said the carrier had moved forward without packages in his hands. Kuhlman told detectives he believed he was about to be tackled. On that basis, he claimed the shooting was defensive rather than an intentional effort to kill or unlawfully injure the carrier.
A witness cited by Everett police supplied another account. The witness reported hearing or seeing an argument in the mailroom and described the postal worker pushing Kuhlman while challenging him about being shoved. The witness then saw the delivery driver pull a pistol and shoot, according to the arrest records. That description may support portions of both men’s statements: It places physical contact before the gunshot but also reports that Kuhlman responded with a firearm. The weight of the witness account will be determined through the court process rather than by the charging documents alone.
The federal allegations require a closer examination of those few seconds. A shove by itself does not automatically establish attempted murder, and an assertion of fear does not automatically establish lawful self-defense. Investigators and lawyers are likely to examine who blocked whose path, whether either man could retreat, how rapidly the encounter unfolded and whether the level of force was proportionate to the danger Kuhlman says he perceived. The complaint presents the government’s version of probable cause, not a final finding of guilt.
What happened after the gunfire is less disputed. Kuhlman remained at the apartment complex, and Everett officers arrested him. Authorities said they recovered the revolver used in the shooting and additional weapons. Police reported that he had another handgun, extended magazines and a fixed-blade knife, along with body armor concealed beneath his delivery uniform. Investigators also found another revolver and ammunition in the delivery vehicle, according to local and federal court records.
The ammunition in the smaller revolver contained pellets inside a capsule rather than a single conventional projectile, prosecutors said. Kuhlman allegedly told detectives that he chose the revolver because it was compact and could be drawn quickly. He also discussed his firearms experience and said he once wanted to work in bail enforcement. Those statements may be used by prosecutors to explain his preparation and knowledge, while the defense could argue that familiarity with weapons does not by itself prove an unlawful purpose.
Police records describe other statements that broadened investigators’ concerns beyond the disagreement about space. Kuhlman allegedly suggested the postal carrier might have ties to organized crime and told detectives he believed federal agents were targeting him. He also reportedly described earlier attacks against him that he had not reported because he lacked evidence. During the original state prosecution, a defense lawyer asked for a mental health evaluation before arraignment. Publicly available material does not establish the result of that evaluation or how it may be addressed in federal court.
The first prosecution began in Snohomish County, where Kuhlman was accused of first-degree assault and held on high bail. Jail records show his local custody ended July 7, 2026, as the case transferred. The dismissal of the state charge did not clear him of the alleged conduct. Federal prosecutors had filed a complaint accusing him of attempted murder of a federal employee, assault of a federal employee and using a firearm during a crime of violence.
The federal court’s involvement reflects the carrier’s status as a Postal Service employee performing official duties. Conduct that might otherwise be handled entirely under state assault laws can fall within federal jurisdiction when a protected federal worker is attacked because of, or while carrying out, that work. The government still must prove each charged offense beyond a reasonable doubt, and Kuhlman may contest the evidence, seek dismissal, negotiate a plea or proceed to trial.
A federal criminal docket was opened July 15 under case number CR26-127, and the Western District of Washington listed an arraignment for July 23 in Seattle. The accessible records reviewed Aug. 4 did not confirm a later hearing date, the plea entered or any resolution of the case. The cramped mailroom, the posted sign and the disputed order of two shoves remain central to a prosecution that began with a routine clash between two workers trying to complete deliveries in the same space.
Author note: Last updated Aug. 4, 2026.