2:15 P.M. UPDATE: Suspicious substance found on a letter inside the Clark County Elections Office was found to be a type of deodorant.
After the suspicious substance was collected and tested by ARMOR, it was found to be a type of deodorant. The threat has been cleared and all employees were able to return to work.
This incident will be under further investigation to see if the deodorant was placed for malice intent.
ORIGINAL STORY
Police responded to a call reference a suspicious substance found on a letter inside the Clark County Elections Office.
Today at about 10:15 am officers responded to the Clark County Election Department located at 965 Trade Drive regarding a suspicious substance found on a letter. An employee at the location became aware of the substance and immediately notified their superior who then made the call to 9-1-1. The letter was located in the incoming mail, according to a Clark County spokesperson.
Upon officers arrival, the building was evacuated and the All-Hazard Regional Multi-agency Operations and Response (ARMOR) unit was called to the scene.
ARMOR is on scene at this time. There are no road closures, no reported injuries or illnesses. Police will remain on scene for the next few hours. The substance is unknown at this time and will be updated upon discovery.
Anyone with information in this incident is urged to call the North Las Vegas Police Department at 702-633-9111 or, to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555.
BRIEF HISTORY OF WHITE POWDER IN ENVELOPES
In 2001, soon after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, envelopes with a white powder later identified as anthrax began appearing in the U.S. mail.
Five Americans were killed by the powder and 17 people were injured.
Since then, suspicious powder in any sort of envelope or package has come to evoke instant fear of a biological attack.
In October of 2003, an envelope marked “Caution: Ricin Poision” was discovered at an air mail facility in South Carolina.
In 2005, envelopes with suspicious powders were received in the Australian capital of Canberra; the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C.; the Danish embassies in Stockholm and Viena; and the state capitol of New Mexico.
Another well-known incident happened in October 2008 when more than 50 letters were mailed to Chase banks around the country. The powder in those envelopes turned out to be harmless.
The vast majority of letters containing powder are sent by hoaxers wishing to cause disruption and fear. One of the most prolific was Clayton Waagner, an anti-abortion activist who mailed hundreds of hoax letters to aborting clinics in 2001.
