Last Updated Oct 24, 2018 10:42 AM EDT
The Secret Service says it has intercepted suspicious packages addressed to former President Barack Obama’s home in Washington and Hillary Clinton’s residence in Westchester County, New York.
In a statement Wednesday, the Secret Service said the packages were “immediately identified during routine mail screening as potential explosive devices.” Neither package was delivered to its intended address.
A law enforcement source tells CBS News the device addressed to the Clinton home resembled a pipe bomb, similar to an explosive device sent to the home of billionaire financier George Soros that was discovered on Monday. The source said the package addressed to the Clinton home was sent through the U.S. Postal Service. Clinton’s home is about eight miles from Soros’ residence in the suburbs north of New York City.
Shortly after news of the packages emerged Wednesday morning, authorities hastily evacuated the Time Warner Center in midtown Manhattan, where CNN’s New York offices are located. Its anchors were live on the air when an alarm rang out, and members of the NYPD bomb squad responded to the scene. Police promptly shut down the area around the building. It’s unclear whether the evacuation is related to the packages addressed to the Clinton and Obama homes.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders condemned “the attempted violent attacks recently made against President Obama, President Clinton, Secretary Clinton, and other public figures.”
“These terrorizing acts are despicable, and anyone responsible will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” Sanders said in a statement Wednesday morning. “The United States Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies are investigating and will take all appropriate actions to protect anyone threatened by these cowards.”
The package addressed to Clinton was identified late Tuesday, the Secret Service said. The package addressed to the Obama residence was discovered early Wednesday. The Secret Service said it had launched “a full scope criminal investigation.”
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