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.
Being charged with a crime or not has nothing to do with releasing the ID, as they could still release the news story with the name of the victim/suspect. This is done all the time.
I would suspect they are not releasing the ID because this is a continuing investigation, and they are looking at anyone and everyone connected with the suspect/victim. Not releasing the name, would give them time to look at the suspect/vitims connections/friends before they’re tipped by the media, sending them running into the tall grass.
Look at this ridiculous quote from the NYT:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/29/us/31cnd-ricin.html?ref=us
“....The presence of the unconscious body may have been what alerted the motel’s staff that something was amiss and led to the discovery of the powder, which preliminary tests identified.”
DUH....LMAO!!
I agree.
It really don't matter why or what the motive is...As it's leading the news hours on FOX and CNN.
Ping, getting stranger by the minute.
I missed the press conference, so am trying to find out what’s going on via this thread.
Of course.
Then again, it's all over the news, so if there are any other bad guys, or co-conspirators involved, they've already headed for the tall grass. LE knows this too. Still seems a little odd that this much time could transpire, yet still on ID on toxic boy.
Wasn’t there a big NBA game in Las Vegas the weekend after Valentines’s Day?
I would say there are a couple of reasons they didn’t ID him.
They don’t want, as you said, people fleeing... (but likely it’s too late on that) and my cop friends here tell me that they already know who the clown is. (They being the local authorities, not the guys I’m talking to.)
The other reason is.... they really do NOT want to panic the public because, against the odds of “Mohammad” being the name, it quite possibly IS something along those lines.
The “relative” came to gather his belongings and was caught unawares, and not willing at first to believe what he saw (supposition on my part) and turned in the stuff he found on the off chance that it was what made his friend/relative sick... and it turned out to be right.
So... if they give out the information on the really sick guy, then the public can reach the relative. Thus, they will get way more information than the authorities want released (at this time, or even EVER).
Wow...more confusing (and more cause for concern now). Wondering if maybe Greta needs to go there?
Good reporters should be able to get the ID anyway from the hotel maids, front office personnel etc...Promise them face time on TV, a few bucks, etc. Since the press know where this occurred, getting info on occupants probably wouldn’t be that difficult. Hell, all the press would have to do is interview other occupants and find out if these were mid-eastern types accents, did they speak foreign languages...etc etc.
Oh, I know all that. But someone told me I was giving reporters too much credit earlier, so you know, I wasn’t gonna go there a second time. LOL
New info from this link(at least info I haven’t seen):
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/national_world&id=5990724
“A 19-member Nevada National Guard team specializing in weapons of mass destruction took samples of the material from the motel office and a police evidence locker and initially identified it as ricin, said Air National Guard Capt. April Conway, spokeswoman for the state National Guard office in Carson City.
Conway said Friday the National Guard team was no longer involved in the police investigation.”
No mention of this in the strange presser! ???
“Weird is that I had a dream about getting an envelope full of powder not one hour ago...”
Oh great, I hope you are not the freeper that had that dream before 9/11 about airplanes flying into buildings.
Do any of you freepers remember that? I was a lurker then, and remember reading that eerie post about the freepers dream, which described exactly what happened on 9/11. It was prophetic.
see post #256
Gotta run a few errands. Please ping me to any updates if you guys find any.
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