Statement of Governor Warner - Interception of Suspicious Letter

Governor Mark R. Warner today issued the following statement on the interception of a letter apparently intended for delivery to the Governor's office.

"I want to personally commend the state employees who successfully identified and intercepted a potentially dangerous letter that was sent to my office this morning. Within hours of the first of similar incidents last week, we were notified by state and federal law enforcement authorities and the Department of Homeland Security that a number of governor's offices had received mail that was triggered to ignite when opened. Our staff was alert to the potential danger.

"Mail handling procedures were adjusted following the anthrax attacks in 2001. Virginia continues its effort to consolidate its mail operations to enhance security and reduce operating costs for all sectors of state government. It is not uncommon for public officials to receive mail or messages of a threatening nature. These result in appropriate follow-up criminal investigations."