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DALLAS - The U.S. Postal service worker who was shot to death while driving a mail truck along I-30 in Dallas has been identified as 58-year-old Tony Mosby.
Mosby's family described him as a workaholic who was a trustworthy father and grandfather.
"He was the rock of the family and part of that glue is gone. And I think that's what's going to help heal his children and his brother and his sister is bringing this person to justice," said Sylvia Mosby, his sister-in-law.
"It's hard to believe that it could happen to your family. You hear all this stuff in the news and you don't think so much of it until it happens to you," his niece JacQueline Mosby said.
The U.S. Postal Inspectors also announced they are offering a $50,000 reward for information that leads the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible for Mosby's death.
Police said he was shot around 2:30 a.m. Monday on Interstate 30 just before the Margaret McDermott Bridge near downtown. When police arrived they found him dead inside the cab of a truck that had crashed into a guardrail.
Police haven't said what they believe led to the shooting and if Mosby was targeted or it was a random attack. They also didn't say how many shots were fired at the vehicle.
Postal inspectors consider Mosby's murder a federal crime because he was on the job.
"If it's first-degree murder, it's death penalty eligible, so the punishment could be as strict as the punishment on the state level,” said former Dallas U.S. Attorney Paul Coggins, who added that it's rare to see a federal murder case -- but this is an exception.
"You'll have the U.S. Attorney and the district attorney will get together and make a decision as to who goes first. Because technically both of them could prosecute,” Coggins added.
Dallas police point out that Monday’s murder happened 11 days after someone opened fire on two Dallas police officers in a squad car about a mile away and at about the same time of the morning. The officers in that attack were not seriously injured.
Police said there's no evidence linking the two crimes, but there have also been no arrests for the attack on the officers.
As for Mosby's murder, Coggins said the full force of the federal government will be involved.
"You'll have the postal inspectors, you'll have FBI, you'll have ATF, they're all going to pitch in to solve this thing, even if you have federal agents, and they'll work with the Dallas Police Department On this because by the way they are the ones who have the ears on the street,” Coggins said.
Police closed the highway for more than four hours to investigate the shooting, unload the postal truck, and tow it away from the scene.
The person who shot Mosby is still on the run, police said.