The Other McCain

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BREAKING: FBI Investigates Suspected Mail Bomb Near Maryland State House UPDATE: Governor O’Malley Targeted?

Posted on | January 6, 2011 | 8 Comments

Very few details yet:

A Maryland State House mailroom employee was injured this afternoon while handling a package and the incident is being investigated by bomb squad officials, according to Annapolis city officials.
The Annapolis Fire Department’s bomb squad is investigating the incident and the state’s bomb squad and FBI officials were on their way to the Jeffrey Building on Francis Street in Annapolis, where the incident took place, as of 12:51 p.m., according to Phillip McGowan, a spokesman for Annapolis Mayor Joshua J. Cohen. . . .

With so little known about the incident, we can’t speculate, but I’ll be keeping an eye on this story.

UPDATE: Fox News is reporting there were two packages which exploded a half-hour apart from each other in two different locations.

UPDATE II: It’s unknown whether there was actually an explosion. The Washington Post has more, and the Capital newspaper in Annapolis reports another suspicious package at the state department of transportation office in Hanover, Md.

UPDATE III: WTOP news radio in D.C. reports that there were no injuries.

UPDATE IV: Jeff Quinton’s Inside Charm City blog has been all over the story, and WBAL-TV reports:

Gov. Martin O’Malley told 11 News that the packages were the size of a book.O’Malley said one package was addressed to him, and the other was addressed to the state secretary of transportation.

Targeting the governor? Hmmm. We could speculate about the significance or motive, but it’s better to wait and let the police and FBI do their work.

UPDATE V: Now a Memeorandum thread, with blogging by Gateway Pundit and others. Inside Charm City’s latest update indicates there may be a third suspicious package in Annapolis Baltimore under investigation. (Just corrected this update; the address with the reported suspicious package is a government office in Baltimore.)

UPDATE VI: The Baltimore Sun has more details. It appears people are on edge over this scare.

UPDATE VII: Some indication of potential motive:

Two mail packages caused some kind of incendiary reaction when opened, burning the fingers of two employees in separate incidents at two state office buildings in Maryland at almost the same time Thursday afternoon. Officials say there is no connection to any domestic terror group and that the mailings appear to be from an angry individual who has a specific grudge against the Maryland State Goverment.
Investigators suspect the small devices were sent by someone, angry over Maryland road signs, asking motorists to report suspicious activity.
Part of a note enclosed with one of the packages read: “Report suspicious activity…total bullsh**…you have created a self-fulfilling prophecy. Signed, X”

If and when the police arrest a suspect, we’ll learn a lot more about who did this and why. In the meantime, we’ll wait to see if Charles Johnson blames it on “libertarian extremism.”

Category: Crime, Maryland

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