Posted on 09/29/2003 2:34:05 PM PDT by GeneD
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The deadly 2001 U.S. anthrax attacks may have been carried out by someone who did not intend to cause any harm, a top FBI official said on Monday.
Of the possibility that a scientist wanted to issue a wake-up call about the bioterrorism threat and it went out of control, FBI Assistant Director Michael Mason told a news conference, "That's a possible theory, but it's all conjecture."
Asked why their had been no other attacks, Mason said, "I suppose the leading thought might be the person didn't intend to cause harm, and did."
The FBI has been investigating anthrax-laced letters that were mailed to the news media and politicians in September and October 2001, which resulted in five deaths in a country already shaken by the Sept. 11 attacks.
Mason, who recently took over as head of the Washington field office and the anthrax probe, said the FBI has made some refinements, but no fundamental changes, to the profile of the person believed responsible for the attacks.
According to the profile, the FBI said the person probably was an adult male who may have worked in a laboratory or had a scientific background. He was suspected of working alone.
Mason rejected criticism that the investigation has languished. He said 27 FBI agents, and U.S. Postal Service investigators, continued to work on the investigation, conducting interviews and following scientific leads.
More investigation remained to be done. "There's still much work to be done before we can say with certainty what it may have taken to commit this crime," Mason said.
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