While city, state and law enforcement officials were holding a media briefing about the suspicious package sent to CNN’s Columbus Circle office Wednesday morning, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Manhattan office received what appears to be a similar device.
“A device was just delivered to my Manhattan office as we were just informed,” Cuomo said. “We wouldn’t be surprised if other devices are sent.”
A law enforcement official later told NBC4 Cuomo’s office received a threatening letter, not a device, but the announcement came just moments after Mayor Bill de Blasio said there were no other “credible and specific threats against other locations in New York City.”
While it is too soon to tell what type of suspicious package Cuomo’s office received Wednesday afternoon, FBI officials said the device sent to CNN, as well as those sent this week to the homes of the Clintons upstate and Obamas in Washington, D.C., “appear to be pipe bombs.”
NYPD Commissioner James P. O’Neill said that the suspicious package sent to CNN appeared to be a “live explosive device” and has been safely removed for investigation. The package also contained “an envelope of white powder” that is currently being tested.
Suspicious package ‘an act of terrorism:’ Mayor
“This is clearly an act of terrorism on our free press,” de Blasio said. “This is a very painful time in our nation, and it’s a time when people are feeling a lot of hatred in the air, and incidents like this exaggerate those feelings. We cannot let the acts of very few change the way we are.”
It was a sentiment the governor seconded.
“We have lived with this a long time, this is a circumstance of being who we are and where we are — we are an international icon and, for some, an international target,” Cuomo said. “It only works if you let it work.”
As the investigation into these suspicious packages remains ongoing, New Yorkers can expect police to have a “clear, visible presence at key media locations and other locations in New York City,” the mayor said.
When asked about the seeming connection that those receiving packages have been vocal critics of President Trump, O’Neill said, “Take a look at who’s being targeted. It is of concern to us.”
To that end, the mayor urged public officials “of all partisan affiliations: Don’t encourage violence, hatred or attacks on media.”
Added Cuomo, “We’re all Americans. Keeping the debate and dialogue civil is very important, and for elected leaders, who set the tone, it is especially important.”
