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Syracuse seminary evacuated / Suspicious mailed envelope turns out to be harmless
By Mitch ShawAUDIO: Syracuse Jr. High Principal’s Phone Message
SYRACUSE -- A suspicious manila envelope delivered to a Syracuse Junior High LDS seminary building led to an evacuation and hourslong investigation. But it turned out to be nothing.
The scare brought scores of Davis County emergency response teams to the school. The seminary faculty and two classes of about 57 students were evacuated, and students were kept away from the building for the rest of the day. However, after the envelope was analyzed at a Salt Lake City crime lab, officials determined there was no danger.
The scare began at about 9 a.m. Tuesday morning when a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints seminary instructor reported the envelope to Syracuse police. He told them the package seemed suspicious.
When police arrived, they also determined that the envelope looked suspicious and evacuated the students to the nearby junior high school. The area was cordoned off with police tape.
Originally, police would not elaborate on what made them so apprehensive of the envelope other than its suspicious labeling.
"It's just the way it was addressed and labeled," said Syracuse police Lt. Tracy Jensen.
Jensen said later that the envelope had some inflammatory "rambling" on it, the return address included a fictitious Post Office box and it was mailed from out of state.
A U.S. Postal Service investigation team was on site and determined the envelope had been mailed to the building, not just placed in the mailbox.
"All we can say is that it was mailed in," said U.S. Postal Service inspector Robert Maes. "It wasn't just dropped in the mailbox."
Maes would not say where it was mailed from.
A hazardous material team, dressed in bright green hazmat suits, entered the seminary building at about 12:30 p.m. and X-rayed the envelope. After exiting the building, the crew entered a large blue tent and received a decontamination shower.
The X-ray determined the envelope contained no explosive material, officials said. The envelope was then taken to the crime lab for further investigation.
Authorities said there was never evidence on the outside of the envelope that would indicate it contained dangerous material. Police said they would not seek criminal charges against the sender.
"Contrary to some rumors going around, there was no white powder or anything like that," Jensen said. "Nothing criminal took place."
Davis County School District spokesman Chris Williams said during the investigation the school was on "perimeter lockdown," meaning students couldn't leave the school unless their parents came and checked them out.
"School seems to be somewhat normal," Williams said. "A lot of parents have been calling and some have come and checked their kids out."
Syracuse resident Leanne Brocious' daughter attends the school. She said she received an automated call from school principal Dr. Robinette Bowden at about 11 a.m., informing her of the situation.
Davis County officials, Syracuse police and fire, Layton fire, FBI agents, health officials, the U.S. Postal Service's investigation team and the Davis County Sheriff's mobile command center all responded to the scare.
Jensen said in light of recent events involving letters containing suspicious white powder being sent to LDS temples in Salt Lake City and Los Angeles, the large response was necessary.
"With something like this, you'd rather err on the side of caution," Jensen said. "With some of the things that happened last week concerning the LDS church, it's better to be overly cautious."
LDS church spokesman Cody Craynor said the church had previously issued a set of cautionary guidelines on handling suspicious packages.
The church issued this statement regarding the warning: "As a routine security precaution, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has provided guidelines to institutes and seminaries regarding the safe handling of mail and steps for responding to suspicious parcels."
(Updated November 19, 2008 at 12:04 a.m.)
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SYRACUSE — A suspicious manila envelope delivered to the Syracuse Junior High LDS seminary building is still being investigated for a possible health scare.
At about 9 a.m. Tuesday morning a seminary instructor reported the envelope to Syracuse Police. He said the package seemed suspicious.
Fifty-seven Syracuse Junior High seminary students were evacuated from the building after police arrived and also determined that the envelope was supicious.
Police would not elaborate on what made them so apprehensive about the envelope and only said it that it had been mailed to the building.
“It’s just the way it was addressed and labeled,” said Syracuse Police Lt. Tracy Jensen.
A U.S. Postal Service investigation team was on site and determined the envelope had been mailed to the building, not just placed in the mailbox.
“All we can say is that it was mailed in,” said U.S. Postal Service Inspector Robert Maes. “It wasn’t just dropped in the mailbox.”
A hazardous material team, dressed in bright green hazmat suits, entered the seminary building at about 12:30 p.m. and X-rayed the envelope. They determined nothing inside of the envelope contained any explosive material and took it to a crime lab in Salt Lake City for further investigation.
Authorities also said there was nothing on the outside of the envelope that would indicate any danger.
“There was no white powder or anything like that,” Jensen said. “But we haven’t opened it yet, so we don’t know what’s inside.”
updated 1:45 p.m.____________________________________________________
Suspicious package causes evacuation of Syracuse Junior High seminary building
SYRACUSE -- The LDS seminary at Syracuse Junior High was evacuated at about 10 a.m. this morning after a suspicious package was reported.
The students were sent back to the school while police taped off the area and investigated. Originally, police referred all questions to the FBI.
Special Agent Juan Becerra said there was nothing hazardous or dangerous found in the package. Police were called because the package was "unaccounted for."
At a press briefing, Syracuse police public information officer Tracy Jensen said they are being extra cautious because of the suspicious packages sent to the Salt Lake and Los Angeles LDS Temples.
The package was a manila envelope with a suspicious label, he said. It was found by a seminary teacher in the mail slot. The teacher was unaware if it was hand-delivered or by the postal service.
The investigation has been turned over to the postal service and the item will be X-rayed. However, police say at this time it is not believed to contain any hazardous materials or chemicals. Hazmat crews also responded as a precaution.
Students, at this time, are not being allowed to return to the seminary building.
Add Your Comment
I was there to it really wasn't scary our teachers told us that if it was really something bad they would have evacuated us. It seemed like a normal school day, Our teacher actualy read us the articals abd a lot of diffrent stories were told, our principal told us right when she knew what had happened we were still in the same class. There really wasn't enough time for rumors.
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