Police, a bomb squad and hazmat crews descended on Sen. Dave McCormick's office in Downtown Pittsburgh Monday after a suspicious letter was reportedly found inside, part of a wave of similar scares hitting congressional offices across the country this month.
What Happened at the Grant Building
Law enforcement was called to McCormick's office at the Grant Building, located at 310 Grant Street, for reports of a suspicious letter discovered Monday afternoon, according to sources cited by WPXI. Hazmat crews were at the scene alongside police and the bomb squad, the station reported, and it said it would share further updates as they become available.
The Pittsburgh response comes amid a rapidly expanding federal investigation into letters containing unknown substances mailed to elected officials' offices nationwide, as reported by NBC News. The FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service are leading that investigation, and the outlet reported that law enforcement has yet to trace the exact origins of the letters or identify who is responsible for sending them.
A Nationwide Wave Targeting Both Parties
Several Republican senators have confirmed they were targeted by similar mailings. Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Pete Ricketts of Nebraska, Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Rounds of South Dakota all said they were among the GOP lawmakers who received the letters, per NBC News's reporting. Ricketts said his Omaha office received a letter containing a powdery substance, and authorities confirmed the substance was not harmful.
That Omaha incident unfolded Friday, when emergency personnel responded to Ricketts' office at about 3 p.m. and cleared the scene by roughly 5:30 p.m., though the station noted the investigation would continue, according to WOWT. The mailings have not spared Democratic offices either. At least 26 state election offices and at least 22 offices of congressional Democrats have been identified as targets, NBC News reported, and sources told the outlet that “dozens and dozens” of letters matching the same description have been sent out nationwide.
Other Senators Report Intercepted Mail
The scares have stretched from coast to coast. The district office of Connecticut Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy was also sent a letter, but it was intercepted by postal service authorities before it could pose a risk, ABC News reported. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said a suspicious piece of mail sent to her New York City office was safely intercepted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, while Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester's office said it received a letter with a suspicious substance that was intercepted by Capitol Police, with neither the senator nor her staff in immediate danger.
Closer to home, federal postal inspectors intercepted a suspicious letter addressed to the Pennsylvania Department of State at a postal facility in Harrisburg on Oct. 15, according to PennLive. No department offices or staff received the letter or came into contact with it at any point, the outlet reported.
Testing So Far Shows No Hazard, But Warnings Continue
Preliminary field testing has so far found that none of the powder recovered from the letters has been determined to be hazardous, though NBC News reported that further laboratory testing is planned. Roll Call reported Monday that none of the letters received by congressional offices have been determined to contain hazardous substances, even as a security official warned that more offices may receive similar letters in the coming days. At least a few dozen House Democrats have already spoken out about receiving suspicious mailings, according to Roll Call.
Election offices in at least 15 states have reported receiving or being the intended recipient of suspicious mail as of Thursday evening, ABC News reported, and law enforcement sources told the outlet that preliminary information pointed to more than 100 letters apparently containing white powder circulating in the U.S. mail system. The New York Times reported that many congressional offices were evacuated in response to the potential danger after suspicious mail was identified before it was opened. The wave of mailings has emerged amid a broader rise in threats against election workers in recent years, NBC News noted.
