White powder incident in Hartford. Photo courtesy of NBC Connecticut
The Hartford Police Department Bomb Squad, State Police, Hartford firefighters, the FBI and crews from the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection were called in to investigate suspicious letters containing white powder around Hartford yesterday.
Hartford Fire Lt. Bryan Thompson confirmed four white powder incidents in Hartford.
One incident was at 450 Columbus Blvd, which houses the Department of Education. Six people were near the package but self-decontaminated. No one was taken to the hospital but the building was evacuated.
Two envelopes containing letters and white powder were opened at the federal courthouse at 450 Main Street in Hartford. Fire officials said one female party was taken by ambulance to Hartford Hospital as a precaution.
A third incident occurred at 21 Oak Street, a state building behind the state courthouse. Firefighters on scene said the building was not evacuated and the incident was contained to a small area.
A fourth envelope containing white powder was opened at the First Bristol Credit Union. The Bristol fire and police departments and the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection responded to the scene.
The US Attorney’s Office said 51-year-old Gary Gravelle, of New Haven, is being questioned in connection with these incidents. Gravelle was arrested on a supervised release violation unrelated to this case. In 2013, he was sentenced in Bridgeport federal court to 70 months in prison for mailing threatening letters. He was released from federal prison in November 2015.
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