Posted on 02/29/2008 3:14:39 AM PST by maquiladora
LAS VEGAS (AP) Preliminary tests indicate that a package found at a motel contained the toxin ricin, and seven people have been taken to hospitals, authorities said.
Police were called to the Extended Stay America Motel on Thursday and retrieved a package from the motel manager that was determined to be a chemical or controlled substance, Officer Ramone Denby said.
Two preliminary tests indicate it contained ricin, he said. Results from further tests by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a second local lab are expected Friday, police said.
Homeland Security officials joined local police in the investigation. Officials from the FBI, Las Vegas Health District, a hazardous materials team and the National Guard were also at the scene.
Officers cordoned off the area and isolated the room where the substance was found.
Three motel employees and another person were quarantined and decontaminated at the site, then taken to hospitals for further testing, Denby said. All appeared to be in good condition, he said. Three police officers who had been exposed were also taken to hospitals.
It takes between six and eight hours for someone exposed to ricin to show signs of contamination, Denby said.
A woman who answered the phone at the motel declined comment.
Ricin is made from the waste left over from processing castor beans, and can be extremely lethal. As little as 500 micrograms, or about the size of the head of a pin, can kill a human, according to the CDC.
They’ve had this suspect/victim in the hospital for 2 weeks and no ID on this guy?
Very odd.
“There might be any number of reasons someone might want to make ricin.”
End of Presser!
Good Grief!!
No. could have just inhaled the powder.
if you sprinkle baby powder in the room, you can smell it.
That means, essentially you’ve inhaled some.
If you “Poof” it into the room, that is “aerosolized”.
if you sniff at the container, you will still smell it but it’s not “aerosolized”.
Truth be told, after many years of training in chemical warfare protection, I would say that aerosolized any sort of powder in smaller quantities is fairly ineffective at injuring a LOT of people. A few, yes, perhaps a building full of people if you can access the air handling systems, might be affected, even killed.
In general, I would say in small quantities as they are talking about (we have to assume a hand full of vials now, since she said “several” in a “plastic bag”....) a small amount, this guy was making up a batch for something DANGEROUS.
At least the LE aren’t ruling out foul play.
Just weird, her boss needs to replace her for sure, lol.
I thought they said they did know who he was but were not releasing it.
I agree...she was acting awfully STRANGE and in light of the situation, when not being dismissive, was defensive.
“That has got to be the weirdest presser I have ever seen, she was odd, dead dog at the end, saying their are numerous reasons to make ricin, making a case for Federal dollars????????????????????”
I am still stunned!
LOL..I love dogs..sorry for the hysteria!
Perhaps you're right. I must have missed your retraction from yesterday when you were trying to convince the world that the mall explosion in Waukegan was the result of terrorists.
So go ahead. Show me the post where you admitted you were wrong.
Well, Cammie, you aren’t thinking about this from a reporter standpoint. The reporter probably KNOWS the answer. They are looking for an answer from an authority figure.
You’ve heard the thing teachers say, “There’s so such thing as a dumb question”, right?
Reporters are trying to get the bottom of the story - asking that question (even if the reporter KNOWS the answer already) is giving the LE authorities a chance to give the right answer.
So, the question wasn’t stupid at all. How many people here know why someone might produce ricin privately?
How many people here know HOW to produce it (I do, I’m one...)
How many people here know what ricin IS? Where it COMES from originally?
Not that many. And the PUBLIC has a right to be INFORMED on this, so the reporter was asking a question to give information
They aren’t going to release information on the guy, because he’s not a suspect apparently. You heard that right.
No doubt they know exactly who the suspect/victim is...He's been in the hospital now for about 2 weeks.
My point is, why would they not release his ID? Whats the secret? Is his name not news worthy?
You’re giving those reporters waay too much credit for being clever. They couldn’t even get the timeline right after she explained it to them.
As I said, the other day, you’re acting like a DUMB ASS. I never ONCE tried to CONVINCE anyone that the mall explosion was a terrorist attack. Not ONCE. I said that you can’t automagically rule things out because you don’t think it was.
I’m not wrong, you’re still a dumbass
“My point is, why would they not release his ID? Whats the secret? Is his name not news worthy?’
His middle name is probably ‘Hussein’. We can’t say Hussein anymore in America...LOL
Didn’t someone upthread say his name was Mohammed Wayne Ray? :-)
Don’t buy that for a second. It this is suspected to be a intentional, or a potential planned attack, *everyone* involved with this hotel room, the victim, friends, relatives etc, would be considered suspects.
No, I’m not giving them too much credit. There were a bunch of reporters in the room. There might actually be ONE smart one there. And she was vague on the time line at first, they had to ask several questions to get it right. I seem to remember one lone, female voice in the background making an issue of the “two weeks ago” thing. Might be wrong but that sounded like one person to me.
No, they aren’t probably going to release it, because they won’t give the media ONE thing to go on to investigate right now.
They think there was a crime committed.
They aren’t sure if this guy was involved.
Funny though, if someone were injured in a car accident by a hit-and-run driver, that name would be out in the media right away.
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