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White Powder Sent To 5th, 6th Foreign U.N. Office (So Far)
By
Jen Chung
Published Nov 11, 2009
Modified Nov 11, 2009
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By
Jen Chung
Published Nov 11, 2009
Modified Nov 11, 2009
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After three foreign offices received envelopes containing a suspicious substance on Monday night, three more received similar envelopes yesterday. First, the German Mission to the U.N. reported receiving an envelope, and later in the day, the British and Russian Missions also received envelopes. The NYPD expects more letters to be found in the coming days and Mayor Bloomberg said of the incidents, "Anybody that thinks that it's a joke is making a very bad mistake. If we apprehend you you're going to face criminal charges."
The German and British Missions are located near the U.N. building in Midtown, while the Russian Mission is on the Upper East Side. The NY Times reports, "a note inside the envelope at the German Mission read 'Al Qaeda F.B.I. in America.' It was similar to notes found in envelopes received on Monday at the Uzbek and Austrian Missions, the police said." (The other mission to receive an envelope on Monday was the French Mission.) Also, "Initial tests of the powder found in the envelopes delivered on Tuesday did not show the presence of anthrax spores or any other hazardous substance." And the NYPD says the envelopes delivered on Monday contained flour.
According to the Post, four of the letters were postmarked from Dallas, Texas—"albeit with different return addresses in that city -- and they are believed to have been mailed from the same post office last Friday, sources said. The letters were mailed a day after the massacre of 13 people on the US Army base in Fort Hood, Texas, by Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, who is Muslim."
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly emphasized, "We caution all of the missions here at the United Nations to be careful with their mail and if they see any suspicious envelopes not to open them. If they do open them to segregate them and call police immediately."
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anthrax
envelope
hazmat
suspicious powder
united nations
white powder
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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