While bombing incidents remain relatively uncommon in the United States, including West Virginia, a series of suspicious packages containing explosive devices addressed to several prominent individuals in the fields of politics and media is of concern for law enforcement from local to national levels.
Similarities between the devices suggest that the same individual or individuals may be responsible for all of them. Authorities have not yet identified a specific individual or individuals, however, although the investigation is ongoing. Though not sophisticated, the explosive devices that authorities have intercepted thus far are similar in style to one another, and authorities describe them as potentially effective. At this time, none of the devices have exploded.
Most of the intended recipients of the devices are prominent members of the Democratic Party. That, in addition to the coordinated manner in which the individual or individuals responsible sent the devices, has led authorities to consider the series of suspicious packages a targeted attack.
One of the packages arrived Wednesday morning at the Florida office of the former chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee. The addressee had given the office as the return address, although the former chairwoman’s name appeared incorrectly spelled on the package. Most of the packages have turned up in and around Washington, D.C., and New York City. The mayor of New York has referred to the devices as an act of terror.
Law enforcement understandably regards terroristic acts and terroristic threats as extremely serious. Nevertheless, those accused of committing such acts or making such threats still deserve a fair trial and may wish to consult an attorney in the interest of defending their rights.
