CNN’s New York office evacuated after receiving suspicious package

Oct. 24, 2018 / 2:50 PM GMT / Updated 3:10 PM GMT

By Elisha Fieldstadt and Jonathan Dienst

The Time Warner Center in New York, which houses CNN’s office, was evacuated Wednesday after a package arrived that was similar to suspicious packages found near the New York home of Bill and Hillary Clinton and another sent to former President Barack Obama in Washington, D.C., a senior law enforcement official said.

The New York Police Department urged people to avoid Columbus Circle, where the Time Warner Center is located.

CNN President Jeff Zucker said the building was evacuated and all of CNN’s bureaus were being monitored “out of an abundance of caution.”

Jim Sciutto, a CNN correspondent, tweeted that the bomb squad responded. “We’re told of explosive device received,” he wrote. Sciutto and Poppy Harlow were on air at approximately 10:09 a.m. when a fire alarm went off. Less than an hour later, he tweeted a photo of a explosive device containment vessel arriving.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly attacked the news media, and can be especially critical of CNN.

The package sent to Hillary Clinton was discovered on Tuesday in Westchester County, New York, and a second in Washington, D.C., the FBI and Secret Service said in a statement.

“The packages were immediately identified during routine mail screening procedures as potential explosive devices and were appropriately handled as such. Both packages were intercepted prior to being delivered to their intended location. The protectees did not receive the packages nor were they at risk of receiving them,” the statement said.

This comes days after an explosive device was found in the mailbox of George Soros’ New York home.