The FBI is urging the public to remain vigilant after several bombs and suspicious packages were intercepted overnight and today at locations across the country.
Crude pipe bombs were sent to Hillary Clinton, former President Barack Obama, former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, and former CIA Director John Brennan. The package addressed to Holder did not reach its intended destination, the FBI says. It was rerouted to the return address in Florida.
The package to Brennan triggered a mass evacuation of the Time Warner Center in Midtown Manhattan where CNN is headquartered.
A similar device was found Monday at the New York home of liberal billionaire and Democratic donor, George Soros.
The packages were mailed in manila envelopes with bubble wrap interior. They all had computer-printed address labels and six Forever stamps on them. All of the packages had a return address of “DEBBIE WASSERMAN SHULTZ”, according to the FBI.
“It is possible that additional packages were mailed to other locations,” the FBI said in a statement. “[Do] not touch, move or handle any suspicious or unknown packages.”
The agency asks anyone with information about the packages to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or tips.fbi.gov. Suspicious activity should be reported to 911 or local law enforcement.
“This investigation is of the highest priority for the FBI. We have committed the full strength of the FBI’s resources and, together with our partners on our Joint Terrorism Task Forces, we will continue to work to identify and arrest whoever is responsible for sending these packages,” says FBI Director Christopher Wray. “We ask anyone who may have information to contact the FBI. Do not hesitate to call; no piece of information is too small to help us in this investigation.”
Local reaction swift and political
News of the bomb threats sparked a wide range of reactions on social media.
Some call the story a ‘false flag’, accusing Democrats of trying to use it for political gain. Others are reaching out for unity in the midst of these disurbing events.
