There was an assassination attempt on President Donald Trump the FBI and our U.S. Secret Service are investigating a suspicious letter received at a U.S. government mail facility; sources say that after two tests were carried out on the substance in the package, it was confirmed that it was the deadly toxin ricin.
Ricin is a poison that can be made from the waste leftover from processing castor beans. Castor beans are used to make castor oil. Ricin can potentially be used as a biological weapon.
Although the package was intercepted at a secure offsite mailing facility, it was sent to President Trump at the White House. A source told New York Times that the package was sent from Canada.
According to Independent
Intelligence officials believe a Canadian woman is responsible for letters containing the poison ricin that were addressed to Donald Trump.
In a statement, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said they were assisting the FBI with its investigation after they suspected a Canadian had sent the letters.
Investigators, meanwhile, have identified a woman as a suspect, reported The New York Times, who spoke to an official briefed on the matter.
Two law enforcement officials told CNN that tests confirmed the presence of the poison in the letters that were intercepted.
All mail addressed to the White House is sorted and screened offsite, where the letters containing the lethal poison were caught before being delivered to the White House mail room.
Ricin is found naturally in castor beans and can be made from the waste material left over when they are processed.
Ingesting or inhaling the poison can cause a range of painful symptoms from nausea through to organ failure and death through a collapse in the circulatory system.