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New York law enforcement authorities said on Wednesday that two anonymous letters addressed to Michael Bloomberg, the Mayor of New York City, and his gun control group, have been found laced with the deadly poison ricin.
The anonymous letters referred to the debate on gun laws. The police also said that emergency workers who came in contact with the letters showed minor symptoms of ricin exposure. However, civilian personnel in New York and Washington who came in contact with the opened letters did not report any trouble.
While one letter was opened by the director of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, Mark Glaze, the other one was opened at a mail facility in Manhattan. Mayors Against Illegal Guns is a group founded by Bloomberg.
The police statement mentioned that both letters contained identical language, mentioned the gun debate, and threatened Bloomberg with dire consequences.
Police spokesman Paul Browne said, “In both letters the content was identical … an oily substance…” Browne also mentioned that “One letter was addressed to the mayor personally.”
Bloomberg said in a statement released by his press office, “In terms of why they’ve done it, I don’t know … but there’s 12,000 people that are going to get killed this year with guns and 19,000 that are going to commit suicide with guns, and we’re not going to walk away from those efforts.”
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Of recent, sending ricin-laced letters seem to have become a favorite among those trying to scare others. In April, a Taekwondo instructor from Mississippi was arrested on suspicion of sending ricin-laced letters to President Barack Obama.
Ricin is a poison found naturally in castor beans and is a widely known biological weapon. A minute but effective exposure can cause death within 36 to 72 hours. The poison does not have any antidotes.
