The Nation - News from Dec. 16, 1988

A postal worker who shot and wounded three people and held his girlfriend hostage for almost 13 hours was coaxed into surrendering by an old acquaintance--the police chief. “I just tried to appeal to him as a father,” Warren Woodfork said. “I’m glad it worked. I’m not a trained hostage negotiator.” Warren Murphy, 39, gave himself up in the main New Orleans post office shortly after 9 a.m. and released his hostage, 29-year-old Carol Smith, unharmed, police spokeswoman Carmine Menchel said.