Photo Credit: Joel Ryan/PA Images/Getty Images
After reporting that federal, state, and local officials are responding to “suspicious packages” addressed to both former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Hillary Clinton, the NYPD is now responding to another suspicious package containing a live explosive that was found inside Time Warner Building.
The Time building is located at 59th street in Columbus Circle, which is home to CNN and other Timer Warner-owned companies, and forced employees to evacuate this morning. Two CNN anchors — Poppy Harlow and Jim Sciutto — were on air when the alarm telling employees to evacuate went off.
Due to police activity, residents on West 58th Street between Columbus Avenue & 8th Avenue should shelter-in-place immediately until further notice. Multilingual & ASL Link: https://t.co/g0JEw0b42u.
— NYCEM – Notify NYC (@NotifyNYC) October 24, 2018
President of CNN Worldwide, Jeff Zucker, released a statment minutes ago, updating the public regarding this morning’s evacuations.
“Our NY Bureau remains evacuated, with the NYPD on the scene. In Atlanta at the CNN Center, a facility that is open to the public, we are putting up magnetometers at the entrances to the building. We remain vigilant regarding security concerns across all of our global locations.”
11:40 am update from Jeff Zucker on security and safety following the evacuation of CNN’s NYC bureau: pic.twitter.com/zojw2T0Juf
— CNN Communications (@CNNPR) October 24, 2018
Mayor Bill DeBlasio, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and Police Commissioner James O’Neill will be present at the Time Warner Building for a press conference at 12:45 p.m.
NBC 6 South Florida is also reporting a “suspicious package” found at the Sunrise Office of Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Schultz is the former chair of the Democratic National Party.
ALERT!!! We are working an investigation of a suspicious package near Sawgrass Corporate Parkway. Please stay out of the area of NW 8th St and NW 136th Ave. We will provide further updates when available.
— Sunrise Police FL (@SunrisePoliceFL) October 24, 2018
Additional words by: Kathleen McConnaghy