Month: May 2024

The Republican National Committee’s Washington headquarters was briefly evacuated and locked down on Wednesday as police investigated a package containing two vials of blood that had been delivered and addressed to former President Donald Trump.

A hazardous materials unit with the U.S. Capitol Police traveled to the site after a suspicious package was found; police say the package contained two vials of blood, with sources telling CNN that it also contained two ice packs and a Korean Bible. According to Fox 5 DC, officials believe the ice packs inside the package were leaking. It was unclear if anyone came into contact with the blood and to whom it belonged, but police said that no injuries were reported in connection with the incident. It remains under further investigation.

U.S. Capitol Police spokesperson Brianna Burch said the suspicious package was cleared Wednesday morning just before 10 a.m.  Capitol Police also said on X, “This morning, we responded to the 300 block of First Street, SE, for the report of a suspicious package. The package was cleared by our Hazardous Incident Response Division. It contained two vials of blood. The source of the package & its contents will be further investigated.”

The RNC confirmed the lockdown was cleared and staff had resumed normal duties. RNC Chairman Michael Whatley said in a statement, “Today, vials of blood were sent to RNC Headquarters in DC. We are thankful to law enforcement, who responded quickly and ensured everyone’s safety.” 

Wednesday’s situation comes less than two months from the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where Trump is slated to become the party’s official 2024 nominee. Trump’s handpicked leadership recently took over the RNC; which includes his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump as the party’s national vice chair, and former North Carolina GOP Chairman Michael Whatley as RNC chairman. Trump campaign senior adviser, Chris LaCivita, has taken over as the RNC chief of staff.

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Authorities in Pennsylvania said that a disgruntled employee opened fire at a linen company near Philadelphia on Wednesday, killing two coworkers and injuring three others.

Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said that the shooting took place at about 8:30 a.m, when the suspect, an employee at Delaware County Lenin in Chester, PA (about 18 miles south of Philadelphia) allegedly walked into the facility with a handgun and opened fire without warning. Police said the suspect left the building after the shooting but authorities stopped a vehicle that matched its description in Trainer, Pa., near the facility later that morning. The suspect, who has not been publicly named, was taken into custody.

DA Stollsteimer said the workers had shortly arrived to work when the shooting happened, and that two of the workers died at the scene of the shooting that happened outside of the building, as well as inside. Stollsteimer said: “This is a story that plays out too often across the United States of America. [The shooting is] an absolute tragedy.” Stollsteimer said according to its initial investigation, no one could point to an immediate motive for the shooting or anticipated the possibility of the incident.

Chester Mayor Stefan Roots said: “It speaks to guns in America. Violence is always unpredictable. We don’t know what conditions people are under, in a city that’s impoverished like ours … We can’t have guns in the hands of the wrong people. There had to be some type of mental health issue that would have an employee walk into his workplace on a day of work and take out his anger in such a violent way — to not just the boss, but his coworkers, who he probably worked side-by-side with for years.”

Chester Police Commissioner Steven Gretsky said during a news conference that one of three people hospitalized in the shooting was listed in critical condition.

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