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| FILE - In this Jan. 29, 2009, file photo Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., speaks during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, Senate Majority Leader Reid said Tuesday, April 16, 2013, that letter with ricin or another poison was sent to Wicker. |
WASHINGTON
(AP) -- An envelope addressed to Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi tested
positive Tuesday for ricin, a potentially fatal poison, congressional
officials said, heightening concerns about terrorism a day after a
bombing killed three and left more than 170 injured at the Boston
Marathon.
The letter was discovered at a mail
processing plant in Prince George's County in suburban Maryland, said
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.
Wicker's office
issued a statement saying "any inquiries regarding member security must
be directed to the United States Capitol Police."
Capitol Police had no immediate comment.
But
Majority Leader Harry Reid told reporters of the letter, and other
lawmakers said they had been provided information by the office of the
Senate sergeant-at-arms.
Milt Leitenberg, a
University of Maryland bioterrorism expert, said ricin is a poison
derived from the same bean that makes castor oil. He said it must be
ingested to be fatal.
"Luckily, this was
discovered at the processing center off premises," Durbin said. He said
all mail to senators is "roasted, toasted, sliced and opened" before it
ever gets to them.
One law enforcement
official said evidence of ricin appeared on preliminary field tests of
the letter, although such results are not deemed conclusive without
further testing. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because
the investigation remains active.
The
discovery evoked memories of the days after the terrorist attacks of
Sept. 11, 2001, when mail laced with anthrax began appearing in post
offices, newsrooms and congressional offices.
That
included letters sent to Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., who was Senate
majority leader, and Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. Two Senate office
buildings were closed during that investigation.
Overall,
five people died and 17 others became ill. The FBI attributed the
attack to a government scientist who committed suicide in 2008.
More immediately, though, the discovery came as lawmakers were demanding answers to the attacks in Boston a day earlier.
There was no evidence of a connection between the bombings and the letter addressed to Wicker, a Mississippi Republican.
