Suspicious letter addressed to Obama tested positive for ricin

WASHINGTON, D.C. – (Update 4) A letter addressed to US President Barack Obama has preliminarily tested positive for the deadly poison ricin, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said Wednesday.

In a statement, the FBI said the investigation into the letter sent to Obama and another sent to Senator Roger Wicker was ongoing, adding there was “no indication of a connection” to the Boston Marathon bombings.

The FBI said additional tests would be carried out over the next 24 to 48 hours to confirm the presence of ricin.

The US Secret Service said the letter had been intercepted at a mail screening facility outside the White House on Tuesday, the same day authorities said a letter was sent to Wicker that also showed traces of ricin.

Secret Service spokesman Edwin Donovan said the agency, which protects the president and his family, was working closely with the US Capitol Police and the FBI to trace the origins of the letter.

At the Capitol, sections of two Senate office buildings were cordoned off amid reports of a suspicious package.

Upon exiting one of the buildings, Senator Ron Wyden said: “Apparently there was a package over there.”

US Capitol Police confirmed a man was being questioned.

“Right now they are interviewing a person but that person is not in custody. He has not been detained,” a US Capitol Police officer told AFP.

The discovery of the letters rattled nerves following the bomb attacks near the finish line at the Boston Marathon on Monday which killed three people and injured more than 180 others, though it was not clear if the incidents were linked.

The episodes also recalled the mysterious series of letters laced with anthrax that were sent to lawmakers and some journalists following the September 11 attacks in 2001 which killed five people and sickened 17 others. – Rappler.com