Threatening packages sent to two offices

A meat cleaver was sent to Vice Provost Ralph Amando in College Hall. College Hall was evacuated at midday yesterday after an administrator received a threatening package originally believed to be a bomb. Just a few hours later, a similar-looking package was discovered at the Law School. Officials from the Philadelphia Fire Department forced a 30-minute evacuation at around 11:30 a.m. after a suspicious package turned up in the College Hall office of Vice Provost for Research Ralph Amado. Amado was not in the building at the time. His secretary was the first to discover package and called the police immediately. "It looked like there was something in there that couldn't be identified," University Police Deputy Chief of Investigations Tom King said. Suspicious-looking postage marks, the absence of a return address and the fact that Amado's name was misspelled helped catch the attention of Amado's staff. Once at the scene, members of the Philadelphia Police Department's bomb squad X-rayed the package and determined a large steel meat cleaver, and not a bomb, was inside. "They could see it clearly," King said. University President Judith Rodin, whose office is also in College Hall, was not in the building at the time of the evacuation. Just a few hours later, police received a call from an office at the Law School, where a small knife was found inside a package resembling the one discovered earlier. Neither package contained a letter or any other type of evidence that would indicate a possible motive. Because Amado is the head of Penn's research activities, investigators originally believed animal rights supporters or other activists might have been responsible for the threatening package. But because a similar package was sent to the Law School -- a seemingly unrelated location -- they have since ruled out such a motive. University Police detectives are working with the Philadelphia Police Department and the U.S. Postal Department on the case. If investigators determine a federal postal law was broken, the Federal Bureau of Investigation could become involved, King said. Amado acknowledged yesterday that his academic role at Penn probably places him more at risk than the average faculty member, though he has never before been the victim of a violent threat. "I have no idea if there was an intention to hurt or if this was a symbolic act of protest," Amado said. Several weeks ago, an animal rights group using the name "The Justice Department" sent booby-trapped envelopes containing razor blades to over 80 university researchers across the country. And though neither he nor anyone from Penn was on the list of targets, Amado said the arrival of a meat cleaver at his office -- regardless of the motive -- is unnerving. "We have to be on guard," Amado said. "This all made me realize how real these things are." Amado added that he was thankful nobody was hurt in the incident and awarded particular praise to his staff for recognizing a potentially dangerous package and acting quickly in response. "We should all be very pleased that they took that initiative," Amado said. University spokesperson Ken Wildes said the packages show that the University community must be aware of potential threats. "There's no question that getting a meat clever in the mail is disturbing," Wildes said. "These things are generally done by people who have lost perspective and we should view these incidents with real caution."

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