Several Downtown Charlottesville court buildings were evacuated Wednesday after an Albemarle County General District Court clerk opened a letter containing a white powdery substance.
The discovery of the substance prompted the evacuation of several buildings in the Downtown area, and the treatment of six employees, who were quarantined in a decontamination chamber set up outside the courthouse.
City and County police, City firefighters, rescue workers, Albemarle sheriff's deputies and employees of the Virginia Department of Emergency Management responded to the incident. The FBI was notified of the alarm, and an agent was on site during the incident.
"We have been working closely with the FBI although it was a local issue and were communicating with them throughout the incident," Albemarle police. Lt. John Teixeira said.
Two tests were conducted on-site to determine toxicity of the substance. According to Teixeira, an initial test proved that the substance was not anthrax, and a second test conducted by the Virginia Department of Emergency Management found that the product was organic-based, and probably food-based. The substance was sent to a lab for further testing.
Teixeira stated that the police "are not aware of any particular person being targeted," and couldn't comment further on suspects.
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