Federal agents searched a U.S. mail facility near Miami on Thursday night to find out who sent 10 pipe bombs to prominent democrats and critics of U.S. President Donald Trump. None detonated and no one has been hurt as packages were intercepted before reaching their intended recipients.
James O’Neill, the police commissioner of New York City, where two of the packages have turned up since Wednesday said investigators treated the devices as “live” explosives, not a hoax. He also said, investigators were also following up on tipoffs from the public. “We are discovering things by the hour.”
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, confirmed that at least some of the packages were mailed in Florida. “Some of the packages went through the mail. They originated, some of them, from Florida,” she said. “I am confident that this person or people will be brought to justice.”
Miami-Dade County Police said their bomb squad and its canine unit were on the scene in Opa-locka, Florida, as a precautionary measure, working alongside federal authorities.
A federal law enforcement source told Reuters the devices were thought to have been fashioned from bomb-making designs widely available on the internet.
On Wednesday, the FBI identified five more targets former President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Attorney General Eric Holder, former CIA director John Brennan, and California Representative Maxine Waters. Two packages were found addressed to her.
On Thursday, the investigation widened with the discovery of three additional packages, two intended for former Vice President Joe Biden in his home state of Delaware and one for Hollywood actor Robert De Niro in Manhattan.
A number of bomb experts and security analysts said that based on the rudimentary construction of the bombs it appeared they were more likely designed to sow fear than to kill.
>Juthy Saha
FBI Searches Florida Mail Center to Find Sender of Package Bombs
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