The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the police department of New York City have started their investigation, Wednesday, to find out who could have sent the two hate mails, which contained traces of the lethal chemical ricin, to Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
The first correspondence was opened at a mail center in Manhattan. The staff members of the mail center did not become ill but some members of the police force who came into direct contact with its contents showed several mild symptoms including diarrhea a day after exposure. They have been brought to a hospital for further tests and treatment.
"They're being checked out as a precaution," said Paul J. Browne, spokesperson of the NYPD in an interview with the New York Times.
The second letter was opened in Washington last Sunday. It was addressed to the director of a group called Mayors Against Illegal Guns, Mark Glaze, a group that Bloomberg finances and oversees. According to officials, Glaze opened the letter but was not harmed.
Browne described the content of the letters as pink, orange, oily substance that proved to have ricin after being tested by authorities on Wednesday.
One anonymous source shared that the two letters had a postmark from Louisiana.
Jim Margoline, a representative for the New York office of the FBI, disclosed that the bureau is looking into the matter and that the letters have been sent to their laboratory in Maryland for further testing.
According to the CDC, ricin is derived from castor beans and was used before in several experiments to eliminate cancer cells. It is categorized to be potentially fatal when ingested or inhaled.
Bloomberg was asked for reactions. The mayor firmly stated that he will continue the fight for gun control and that he does not feel threatened. During a press briefing, he told the media that about 12,000 people will die this year due to firearms and about 19,000 more will be committing suicide using guns.
"This is a scourge on the country that we just have to make sure that we get under control and eliminate," Bloomberg said.
Back in April, James Everett Dutschke from Mississippi was put into custody after sending mails containing ricin addressed to Senator Roger Wicker and President Barack Obama. He was charged for producing a biological agent and using this agent as a weapon.
Earlier this month, a ricin-laced letter was sent to a judge in Spokane, Washington. It was screened and detected before it reached its intended recipient.
The NYPD shared that they have been getting a lot emergency calls over the past years from locals receiving letters with suspicious powders on them but none have tested positive for anthrax or other deadly chemicals.
