Two 16-year-olds have been charged in the armed robbery of a USPS mail carrier in Melrose, Massachusetts, earlier this month and prosecutors allege the teens were inspired to steal the mail by TikTok trends.
The robbery happened on Orchard Lane on Dec. 10., according to the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office. The suspects, who were not identified due to their age, are accused of threatening the victim with a knife and airsoft gun as she approached her truck, demanding mail and postal property. The carrier complied and the teens ran off, prosecutors say.
Prosecutors say the suspects were found several days later on Dec. 18, when police spotted a suspicious vehicle near a USPS mailbox in Melrose. When they were found, the teens had stolen mail and postal property, the DA’s office said.
Investigators believe the teens got the idea to steal checks from the mail through TikTok trends and other places, thinking it could be a way to make money. Prosecutors didn’t offer more details about what trends might have spread ideas about mail theft.