OPA-LOCKA, Fla. (WSVN/AP) — The explosive devices sent to multiple Democratic politicians and CNN were reportedly processed through a mail facility in Opa-locka.
Miami-Dade Police honed in on the Opa-locka postal facility for hours, going in and out with K-9 units, Thursday.
An alarm could be heard around 10 p.m. as dozens of employees inside the facility were forced to come outside, many of them congregating in the parking lot.
It is unknown as of yet why the employees evacuated the building.
Miami-Dade Police said they cannot comment any further as they work alongside federal officials on the active investigation of the suspicious packages.
However, some workers told 7News they were eventually allowed back inside.
A law enforcement official told The Associated Press that investigators hunting for the source of package bombs sent to critics of President Donald Trump suspect that some of the parcels were mailed from Florida.
The official said Thursday that investigators have been examining a database of images of mail maintained by the U.S. Postal Service. It has provided clues pointing investigators toward the state.
The official wasn’t authorized to discuss the investigation and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
U.S. Postal Inspection Service spokesman Philip Bartlett said that postal employees and inspectors are searching mail facilities for packages matching the 10 sent over the last four days.
A U.S. Postal Service employee told CNN the Opa-locka facility handles mail that is both incoming and outgoing from South Florida, possibly giving authorities some clues as to who may be behind the bombing attacks.
All 10 packages discovered so far had return addresses from Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s Sunrise office.
Schultz spoke out about the packages, Thursday.
“My brave staffers and I saw those weapons of hate up close this week, but I know everyone in this room and so many others will always choose love, compassion and honest communication to make our world a better place,” said Schultz. “We will never be cowed into submission by people who hate. Never. Never.”
“There will always be those who use distraction, threats and even violence to accomplish their ends,” Schultz added.
Tensions were still running high Thursday night after New York Police rushed to reports of a suspicious package at the Time Warner Center.
This comes just one day after CNN became one of 10 targets of the pipe bombs. CNN has since been given the all clear after the report of a suspicious package, Thursday night.
No new packages containing explosives have been identified since Thursday morning.
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.