A second letter sent to the U.S. Senate and another intended for President Obama have potentially positive for the lethal poison ricin, a new report said. The law enforcement official said the letter is similar to one recently mailed to Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker on Tuesday. Capitol police, the FBI and other agencies have continued their investigation.
Law enforcement officials have not commented whether the suspicious packages correlate to the Boston Marathon bombings on Monday. Federal officials told NBC News said that they know who sent the letters, but there were no arrests made yet.
Authorities cleared the hall at the Senate office building, but it still has been verified for what reason, NBC News reported.
Police were also investigating a suspicious at the office of Alabama Senator Richard Shelby. Results from full laboratory tests are expected in the next 24 to 48 hours. Events remain fluid, and the letter was received at the mail facility Tuesday, the official said.
The FBI said on Tuesday that a letter intended for Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker tested had initially tested positive for ricin. That letter was intercepted at a postal facility in Maryland where they screen mail, which is sent to Congress. The letter was postmarked Memphis Tennessee and had did not have a return address, Terrance Gainer, the Senate sergeant at arms said.
These cases are highly reminiscent of the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in 2001 when a wave of letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to several news media offices and U.S. Senators.
