A letter claiming to contain anthrax forced the evacuation Monday morning of more than 1,000 people at the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles headquarters in Tallahassee.
Hazardous materials teams were called to the building around 8:30 after an employee opened an envelope that contained a letter saying there was anthrax inside.
Several firefighters wearing hazmat suits entered the building and discovered six employees had handled the letter. Those employees were decontaminated and did not show any symptoms of poisoning. They are being evaluated right now.
The letter will be sealed up and sent to the Florida Department of Health for testing.
Tallahassee Fire Department spokesman Mike Bellamy says the letter did not actually contain any material, and if there were anthrax, it would look like powder.
There really is not a heightened level of concern right now due to the fact that we believe there is no actual substance inside the letter," said Bellamy. "It was maybe more of a threat than anything but we always do assume the worst and take all necessary precautions when were dealing with public safety.
The incident has triggered a criminal investigation involving the FBI, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Florida Highway Patrol and Tallahassee Police Department.
Dave Heller is a Tallahassee freelance reporter/videographer.
