FBI Probes 3-State Anthrax Alarm
Less than two weeks after an anthrax hoax against abortion clinics in four states, letters claiming to contain the bacteria were sent to a Catholic parish school in Indianapolis and to destinations in two other states.
St. Matthew Catholic School in Indianapolis was closed Monday after someone opened an envelope with a note saying, "You have been exposed to anthrax." The Chicago office of an anti-abortion group and a Catholic church in suburban Buffalo, New York, received similar letters.
The language of the note was nearly identical to a phony anthrax threat sent 10 days before to an abortion clinic in Indianapolis and other clinics in the Midwest. FBI spokesman Doug Garrison said it was possible a copycat was playing on fears created by the previous incidents.
Emergency crews scrubbed down six parish office workers who may have been exposed at the school. The workers also took antibiotics as a precaution because investigators did not know whether the threat was genuine. In all, 481 students and teachers fled the school.
Correspondent Kathy Straitif of CBS affiliate WIVB-TV in Buffalo reports that nine people were decontaminated at Queen of Martyrs church in Cheektowaga, New York, after the parish received a similar threat.
"We're taking every precaution to make sure that those who have may have been exposed to this are going to receive the treatment and medical attention that they need," said Town Supervisor Dennis Gabryszak.
One police official said the precations "probably went overboard" but officials preferred to err on the side of caution. Stress counseling will be offered those who want it, he said.
The building is expected to be closed for 72 hours for decontamination, officials said.
FBI agents were investigating the third letter, sent to the Chicago office of the Pro-Life Action League and claiming to contain anthrax, a strain of bacteria that can be used as a biological weapon.
The office was not evacuated and none of the seven people there was hospitalized, said the group's executive director, Joseph Scheidler.
The letters to Indianapolis and Chicago had Texas postmarks; the letter to the New York church was from Illinois.
Correspondent Stephanie Lucero of CBS affiliate KTVT-TV in Dallas-Fort Worth reports that the postmark doesn't necessarily mean that the letter was mailed from Fort Worth, but does mean the letter passed through a postal processing plant in the city's Northwest.
That's something that has Texas residents a little upset. "It's pretty crazy; it hits too close to home, " said one Fort Worth resident.
Authorities did not know why anyone would target the school, which was closed Tuesday so that investigators could test for possible contamination.
Anthrax spores can infect people who breathe them in. It can be treated with antibiotics, but can kill if left untreated.
"It makes you wonder about whee your kids can be safe," said Tom Leonard, whose nine-year-old son is a third-grader at St. Matthew. "You would think you could count on them to be safe at school."
Principal Rita Parson said her students were not told why they were leaving the school until they arrived at nearby Cathedral High School, where their parents picked them up.
"Everyone was crying and some people were upset," said Allyson Hayes, a 12-year-old seventh grader.
Postal Inspector P.J. Farmer said authorities intend to find and prosecute those responsible for the threats.
"You don't go into the airport and say 'bomb.' You don't go into the bank and say 'robbery.' And you don't send people letters in the mail that say 'anthrax,'" he said.