Man Critical After Ricin Find In Las Vegas

(CBS/AP)  Vials found in the motel room of a man hospitalized in critical condition tested positive for the deadly toxin ricin, authorities said Friday.

There was no indication of any link to terrorist activity, Las Vegas police Deputy Chief Kathy Suey said at a press conference.

In recent years, terrorists have used ricin, reports CBS News correspondent Drew Levinson. In 2003, the Secret Service intercepted an envelope filled with the substance that was addressed to the White House. It was also found in the Senate mailroom and a postal facility in South Carolina.

The man was admitted to Spring Valley Hospital in Las Vegas in critical condition on Feb. 14, hospital spokeswoman Naomi Jones said. Suey said he had made an emergency call for help because of breathing problems. His name was not made public.

The investigation of the apparent ricin didn't begin until Thursday, police said, after someone Suey identified as "a friend or relative" went to the sick man's hotel room to retrieve his belongings and found "several" vials of a powder and brought it to the motel manager. Police were ultimately called to the Extended Stay America Motel several blocks west of the Las Vegas Strip.

Seven people, including the man who found the ricin, the manager, two other motel employees and three police officers were decontaminated at the scene and taken to hospitals for examination but none have shown any signs of being affected by ricin, Suey said. All were released overnight.

Ricin is made from processing castor beans and can be extremely lethal. As little as 500 micrograms, or about the size of the head of a pin, can kill a human, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

"During our investigation we did find that there was a subject who had been a previous occupant of that hotel room who is currently hospitalized in critical condition here locally as a possible result of exposure to ricin," Suey said.

Two preliminary tests, one by police and one by the Nevada National Guard, concluded that the substance was ricin. A third test from a local lab confirmed the results, Suey said.

"There is no information to lead us to believe that this is the result of any terrorist activity or related to any possible terrorist activity," she said. "We don't even know that it was him that was in possession of the ricin."

Police said the sick man, believed to be in his 40s or 50s, is not considered to be a criminal suspect. Suey said he was unconscious, and police had not been able to interview him.

Suey would not say how many vials were found or how much ricin they contained. Officials said the vials were in a plastic bag, and castor beans also were found in the room.

Police said they spent 12 hours containing and cleaning up the site.

"My understanding is cleanup has been done. There should not be a threat to anybody at this time," said Dr. Lawrence Sands, chief health officer of the Southern Nevada Health District.

Jones, the hospital spokeswoman, said no one else at the hospital is at risk of exposure.

"The patient who has been exposed is not contagious to anyone else, as ricin has to be injected, ingested or inhaled. We are following the universal blood-borne pathogen protocols and cooperating with investigators at this time," Jones said.

The motel manager had begun an eviction because the sick man hadn't paid his bill, and the man who found the vial had gone to the room to retrieve his belongings. Suey said he claimed to be a relative of the sick man.

Suey said there were several pets in the room when officers arrived. A dog was found dead but the animal had gone at least a week without food or water, Suey said, and she did not attribute the death to ricin.

[mainemade]

It only takes a pin point of this stuff to kill a human. Multiple vials were found. HMMM...Makes you wonder don''t it? It sure does me.....

[jowand]

or other followers of Tim McVeigh who have already shown they favor ricin as a potantial terror weapon.

So when will the Bushits start the roundup of the TV preachers?
Posted by gkc99 at 08:34 AM : Mar 01, 2008

Timothy McViegh wasn''t a Christian you hatefilled idiot sicko.

[jowand]

But not unlikely that it was to be used by White Right U.S. home grown terror groups like Church of the Creator, Aryan Brotherhood, or other followers of Tim McVeigh who have already shown they favor ricin as a potantial terror weapon.

So when will the Bushits start the roundup of the TV preachers?
Posted by gkc99 at 08:34 AM : Mar 01, 2008

Your a deranged hatefull loonatic, maybe it was George Soros or Michael Moore, or a MOVEON.O-r-g-a-s-m plot, by your method of drawing conclusions just accuse anyone.

[gkc99]

"There was no indication of any link to terrorist activity, Las Vegas police Deputy Chief Kathy Suey said at a press conference. "


But not unlikely that it was to be used by White Right U.S. home grown terror groups like Church of the Creator, Aryan Brotherhood, or other followers of Tim McVeigh who have already shown they favor ricin as a potantial terror weapon.

So when will the Bushits start the roundup of the TV preachers?

[hungry1968]

Further proof that the torture being carried out in Guantanamo isn''t keeping us safer, and dangerous people with dangerous materials are still getting by our very, very weak security.

Bring out troops home!! Use them for OUR security!!

[danalmac]

Dear psy_war at 07:20 PM : Feb 29, 2008: IGNORANCE IS IGNORANCE, OSTRICH IS OSTRICH AND STUPIDITY IS STUPIDITY. GO AHEAD AND PLAY DEAF AND DUMB. I DIDN''T LIKE CLINTON AND I DO NOT CARE FOR BUSH. I SUPPOSE THAT HOMELAND SECURITY, LACKING IN WAYS IS A TOTAL WASTE OF TIME, MONEY AND A PLOT TO THROW US OFF THE REAL TRUTH AND TO PROTECT THE PEOPLE IN POWER AND THEIR INTENT? H A H A, I''M OUT OF HERE FOR AWHILE, AT LEAST UNTIL I CLEAN MY BOOTS. THEY SAY THERE IS ONE IN EVERY CROWD BUT, HERE THERE IS AT LEAST TWO. HAVE FUN!

[sgt2dog]

You guys are just nut cases. Give it a break.

[nothappyatall]

As people celebrated Armistice Day with parades and large partiess, a complete disaster from the public health standpoint, a rebirth of the epidemic occurred in some cities. The flu that winter was beyond imagination as millions were infected and thousands died. Just as the war had effected the course of influenza, influenza affected the war. Entire fleets were ill with the disease and men on the front were too sick to fight. The flu was devastating to both sides, killing more men than their own weapons could.
With one-quarter of the US and one-fifth of the world infected with the influenza, it was impossible to escape from the illness.
In 1918-19 this deadly influenza pandemic erupted during the final stages of World War I. Nations were already attempting to deal with the effects and costs of the war. Propaganda campaigns and war restrictions and rations had been implemented by governments. Nationalism pervaded as people accepted government authority. This allowed the public health departments to easily step in and implement their restrictive measures.

[nothappyatall]

The 1918 pandemic, how it hit the US should be a wakeup call since we are right now in a similar situation;

a first wave of influenza appeared early in the spring of 1918 in Kansas and in **military camps** throughout the US. Few noticed the epidemic in the midst of the war.
There was virtually no response or acknowledgment to the epidemics in March and April in the military camps.
These first epidemics at training camps were a sign of what was coming in greater magnitude in the fall and winter of 1918 to the entire world.

The war brought the virus back into the US for the second wave of the epidemic. It first arrived in Boston in September of 1918 through the port busy with war shipments of machinery and supplies. The war also enabled the virus to spread and diffuse. Men across the nation were mobilizing to join the military and the cause. As they came together, they brought the virus with them and to those they contacted. The virus killed almost 200,00 in October of 1918 alone. In November 11 of 1918 the end of the war enabled a resurgence.

[ontheleft]

Osama bin Laden was behind this. Once again our savior Bush has saved us all from another terrorist attack. Now we can all go back to hiding behind our triple locked doors. Don''t forget to vote Republican.