Police probing suspicious package sent to U.S. congresswoman's office in Florida

Source: Xinhua| 2018-10-25 02:39:56|Editor: yan
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WASHINGTON, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- Police in Sunrise, the U.S. state of Florida, said Wednesday they were investigating a suspicious package sent to the district office of Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

The package was found hours after suspicious devices were sent to former President Barack Obama, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as well as to CNN's offices in New York.

The building that houses the office of Schultz, the Democratic National Committee chair from 2011 to 2016, was evacuated after the suspicious package was discovered in the mail, according to the Sunrise police.

"ALERT!!! We are working an investigation of a suspicious package near Sawgrass Corporate Parkway," the Sunrise Police Department tweeted.

"There have been no reports of any other incidents or suspicious packages at any other venues within Sunrise," it said in another tweet.

Meanwhile, the San Diego Tribune newspaper is reporting that its employees have evacuated their building after five packages were found at the front entrance of the building, in which U.S. Senator Kamala Harris has an office.

The communications director for Harris has said that the packages found outside the building in San Diego were not addressed to the Democratic senator or her office.

Earlier Wednesday, the U.S. Secret Service announced that it has intercepted two packages containing "potential explosive devices" addressed to Obama and Clinton respectively during routine mail screening procedures.

The package intended for Obama was intercepted in Washington D.C. on Wednesday morning, and the one intended for Clinton was addressed to her in Westchester County, New York, on Tuesday, the Secret Service said in a statement.

Clinton was in Florida campaigning for Democrats on Tuesday night, but her husband was at home, reports said.

"Both packages were intercepted prior to being delivered to their intended location," according to the agency. "The protectees did not receive the packages nor were they at risk of receiving them."

The devices were recovered after an explosive device was found earlier this week in a mailbox at the Bedford, state of New York, home of billionaire investor and major Democratic donor George Soros.

Also on Wednesday morning, the New York Police Department responded to a suspicious device found in the Time Warner Center, where the CNN newsroom in New York is based. The building was evacuated.

The package was reportedly addressed to former CIA Director John Brennan, who regularly appears as a television contributor.

According to CNN, the device found in the Time Warner Center's mailroom is similar to the ones addressed to Obama, Clinton and Soros.

It also reported that the initial examination of all of the devices shows them to be constructed similarly. At least one of the devices appeared to contain projectiles, including shards of glass. The devices are rudimentary but functional.

The White House said it condemned the "attempted violent attacks."

"We condemn the attempted violent attacks recently made against President Obama, President Clinton, Secretary Clinton, and other public figures," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

"These terrorizing acts are despicable, and anyone responsible will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law," she added.

It was originally reported that a suspicious device was also sent to the White House but the Secret Service said those reports were incorrect.

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