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Ricin detected in 2 pieces of mail sent to Pentagon

Posted at 12:09 PM, Oct 02, 2018
and last updated 2018-10-02 13:11:40-04

By RNN Staff

WASHINGTON, DC (RNN) - Ricin was detected in a piece of mail sent to the Pentagon, media sources say.

The mail never made it inside the building, CNN reported.

The poison was detected in field testing in the mail facility, which is in a separate building.

Further field testing is being done by the FBI and the Pentagon Force Protection Agency.

Spokesman Chris Sherwood said that the mail was addressed to a person at the Pentagon he declined to name, the Associated Press reported.

Ricin is a naturally occurring substance found in castor beans, the CentersofDisease Control and Prevention said. It has been used before in killings and is rumored to have been used as a warfare agent in Iraq in the 1980s,

In 2004, an envelope containing ricin was discovered in Sen. Bill Frist’s mailroom in Washington, DC.

In April 2013, an envelope addressed to President Barack Obama mailed from Memphis, Tennessee tested positive for ricin.

A second letter also from Memphis and intended for Sen. Roger Wicker was discovered at a mail processing facility before it could reach its intended target. It also tested positive for ricin

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