Baltimore firefighters investigate ‘suspicious’ substance in package delivered to NAACP headquarters
A package with a derogatory message and suspicious substance was mailed to the NAACP headquarters in Baltimore on Monday, the organization and city officials said.
National Press Secretary Marc Banks said that around 4 p.m. a “suspicious” package arrived and it had a derogatory message on it. Banks did not disclose what the message was and said it contained “powdery white substance.”
Baltimore City firefighters, including the hazmat unit, were called to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People headquarters at 4805 Mt Hope Drive to investigate the substance, Banks said. No injuries were reported.
“The climate that we’re in now, it’s really those people who want to quell our voice,” he said. “Tactics like this will not work.”
Baltimore Fire Chief Roman Clark said the employee who received the package took “every precaution he was supposed to.”
The employee opened the package and got the substance on his hands and immediately washed them and placed the package in a plastic bag, Clark said. The chief said the department is testing the substance but described it as a “low risk” situation.
By 6:30 p.m., units were clearing the scene and Banks said the fire department determined the substance was not hazardous.
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