KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - The Latest on a suspicious package found at the IRS building in downtown Kansas City, Missouri (all times local):
5:45 p.m.
Authorities say a suspicious package that sickened several people at an IRS building in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, smelled like ammonia.
Local officials say about 10 people reported feeling sick after the package was delivered to the building Friday.
Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Lucy Martinez says seven people were treated at local hospitals. She says several people reported feeling ill with “watery eyes.” Some people reported vomiting and nausea.
Martinez says the envelope involved smelled like ammonia, but no other details were released about the envelope’s contents or where it may have originated.
The investigation has been taken over by the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. The Federal Protective Service, a division of Homeland Security, also is involved.
The building wasn’t evacuated and business returned to normal about two hours after the incident began.
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2:40 p.m.
A federal organization that responds to terrorism and criminal acts against U.S. government infrastructure is investigating after a suspicious package sickened about 10 people at the IRS building in Kansas City, Missouri.
Department of Homeland Security spokesman Lucy Martinez says agents with the Federal Protective Service responded to the building after the package was found Friday morning.
Two of the 10 people who complained of nausea and vomiting were taken to a hospital and were in good condition. The building was not evacuated and returned to normal business two hours after the incident began.
Martinez says a hazardous materials team took custody of the package. No other details have been released.
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1 p.m.
A fire official says about 10 people were sickened by a suspicious package in the mailroom of a sprawling IRS building in downtown Kansas City, Missouri.
Kansas City Fire Department spokesman James Garrett says 10 people complained of feeling ill, including vomiting and sweating, after the package arrived at the building Friday. He says two people were taken to a hospital.
St. Luke’s Hospital spokeswoman Laurel Gifford says those victims are in good condition.
Garrett says the Fire Department was checking for gasses and fumes but hasn’t determined the package’s contents. He says the package was isolated from the public.
The building was not evacuated and has returned to business.
Garrett says the investigation has been turned over to the IRS and other federal authorities.
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