Federal authorities are investigating whether letters delivered to two dozen D.C. schools Thursday were mailed by the same “dastardly” individual who has been terrorizing institutions across the country. James McJunkin, the assistant director for the FBI Washington Field Office, said the letters were similar to those sent to District schools in October, but they could have been mailed by a copycat.
“We do not characterize it as a prank,” McJunkin said. “What they have done is commit a serious criminal offense.”
D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray called the mailings, which forced the evacuation of schools across the city, a “dastardly act” that threatened harm to the city’s children.
The letters were postmarked “North Texas” or “Dallas” and mailed May 2. Addresses were typed on computerized printout and affixed to the envelope. According to a bulletin released by the Washington Regional Threat and Analysis Center, the letters contained the words “AL -QAEDA-FBI.”
Last August, the FBI and the U.S. Postal Service announced a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the letter sender after dozens of envelopes containing white powder and referring to terrorism were mailed to churches, mosques and businesses around North Texas. Additional letters turned up in Austin and Lubbock in Texas, and Chicago.
The meaning of the letters was unclear, but the sender appears to taunt the FBI. The return addresses were current or former FBI offices, agents told NBC in Dallas.
“The sender(s) appears to be committed to getting their message out, but has not clearly articulated what the message may be,” according to an FBI news release sent then.
Investigators determined that those letters were similar to hundreds sent since December 2008. Governor’s offices in Alabama, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana and Rhode Island received the letters.
Each time the cases prompted expensive hazmat responses. So far the powder has tested negative for any dangerous substances. But McJunkin warned, “That could change.”
The Dallas FBI office reportedly took the lead in the investigation last year because all the letters originated from Texas.
Mailing threatening letters is punishable by up to five years in prison for each letter.
