Twelve people were sickened at an Internal Revenue Service building in Kansas City on Friday after coming in contact with a mysterious package that emitted a foul ammonia-like smell.
People complained of chest pains, vomiting, and sweating. Television footage shows emergency crews rolling people on stretchers toward ambulances. Other workers were seen on a nearby lawn holding their chests.
As of Friday evening, authorities had isolated the suspicious 8-by-12 inch envelope in a room, but had not yet opened it. Police are trying to figure out how to proceed, according to FOX4.
Four people were hospitalized and eight more were treated on the scene.
“We are inside the building. We have the box isolated, so we have the box away from everybody else,” said James Garrett with the Kansas City, Mo., Fire Department.
“It’s in a room where it’s isolated. We have that part of it done. We haven’t gotten to exactly what the substance is yet.”
The box does not have any substance or powder on the outside. When it arrived at the room in the building, 10 people were present, Garrett said.
Throughout the day on Friday, FOX 4 contacted the fire department, Homeland Security, Kansas City police, the FBI, and the IRS. No agency provided clear answers as to what occurred in the building.
