Last Updated Oct 24, 2018 12:06 PM EDT
- “Suspicious packages” addressed to Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were intercepted by the Secret Service.
- CNN headquarters in New York and a Florida office of former DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz were also evacuated.
- At least two of the packages included crude but functional low-ordnance explosive devices, according to a law enforcement official.
- The package to CNN was addressed to former CIA director John Brennan, CNN reported, citing law enforcement sources.
- The device at CNN headquarters was safely removed by the NYPD.
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. Another package discovered in New York prompted the evacuation of CNN’s offices and an enormous police response that shut down the area around the building.
The packages contained crude but functional low-ordnance explosive devices, a law enforcement official told CBS News senior investigative producer Pat Milton. At least two of the devices consisted of a pipe, wires and black powder, the official said.
In Sunrise, Florida, the office of Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz was evacuated over a suspicious package. A bomb squad was responding Wednesday morning.
The official said investigators are treating the incidents as if they are linked. No one has claimed responsibility for sending the packages.
In a statement Wednesday, the Secret Service said the packages sent to the Clinton and Obama homes were “immediately identified during routine mail screening as potential explosive devices.” Neither package was delivered to its intended address.
A law enforcement source told CBS News the device addressed to the Clinton home was 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 initial 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.
CNN reported the package discovered in New York was addressed to former CIA Director John Brennan, citing city and local law enforcement sources. At noon, CNN President Jeff Zucker said in a statement that police had safely removed the package from the building.
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.”
Pat Milton and Len Tepper contributed reporting.
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