AURORA, Ill. (CBS) — One person was rushed to the hospital Monday afternoon after opening mail at an Illinois state representative’s office in Aurora.
As a precaution, people were also evacuated from the building where the office is located.
Aurora police said at 1:06 p.m. they were called along with firefighters to the office of Illinois State Rep. Barbara Hernandez (D-Aurora) in the busy three-story office building at 1 E. Benton St. in downtown Aurora .
An employee had reported sick shortly after opening the mail.
Emergency officials were unsure if the post was Rep.’s staffer. had actually made Hernandez sick, or whether it was something else. Still, many people were shocked.
“The police are banging on everyone’s doors saying, ‘We have to evacuate the building,’” says Danny Souri. “It was like a scene from a movie. It was pretty intense.”
Souri works in another office space at 1 E. Benton St. But he said the urgency of emergency services made it clear it was not a drill.
“We were told not to leave, we can’t get back into the building,” he said.
Meanwhile, the employee of Hernandez’s office, who became ill after opening the letter, was taken by ambulance to a hospital.
“Another person I know was also injured by it,” Souri said. “They went alone.”
After the building was evacuated, investigators quickly worked to determine what, if any, threat posed by the letter was.
“The landlord had to turn off all the HVAC in the building so there was no airflow anywhere and it wasn’t spreading, and that’s how they let us know what it was,” Souri said.
What exactly caused the scar remained unknown late Monday. Representative Hernandez released this statement:
“I would like to thank all the first responders for their hard work and support during today’s incident. It is true that my office received a letter, as we usually do. One of my team members opened the letter, which made them feel ill afterwards. called APD to request assistance, where we then arranged for everyone to evacuate the building. My team member who came into contact with the letter is in good spirits as they wait for test results.
“It’s a shame that we live in this type of environment where we have to worry about these incidents. However, I am very proud and grateful to my team and the first responders for the quick action. I’m sorry to anyone who has this I have seen some posts on social media and I ask others not to be misinformed. Our office will be closed tomorrow to give my team time to recover.”
Late Monday evening, the employee was stable and awaiting test results.
The police do not want to say whether they have any clues. But the entire building will remain closed on Monday as a precaution.
Jermont Terry
