The Attorney General and Homeland Security offices on Washington Ave. were evacuated Wednesday morning when an envelope in Attorney General Luther Strange’s reception area was opened containing a white powdery substance.
Federal, State, and Montgomery City first responders were called to the scene and found that eight staff members in the Attorney General’s office had some level of exposure to the substance. They were immediately quarantined.
The initial test of the white substance by the postal inspector showed the powder was harmless. The National Guard Civil Support team was called in and removed the substance from the building and conducted further tests. Their test also deemed the substance not hazardous. The individuals who had been exposed were decontaminated by the hazmat team and allowed to leave.
“Our employees are all safe, and for that I am most thankful,” Attorney General Luther Strange said. ” The Attorney General’s office is working with state and federal authorities to investigate the source of the letter received today.”
“The action performed by the federal, state, and local first responders is a prime example of how working together as a team makes a more effective and efficient government,” Secretary Spencer Collier of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said. “I would like to commend the city of Montgomery’s fire department for their efforts today.
The Alabama Bureau of Investigation is now conducting an investigation into the envelope sent to the Attorney General’s office.
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