'Suspicious envelopes' reported at offices of South Bay congressmembers
As federal authorities investigate more than 100 suspicious letters sent to election offices and U.S. senators across the country, local lawmakers are now facing new security concerns.
San Jose
A bomb squad shut down U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren's San Jose office on Friday to investigate a suspicious envelope.
San Jose Police Department said officers responded to reports of a "suspicious package" in the 600 block of N. First Street just after 11 a.m.
RELATED: Feds investigating letters with 'suspicious substances' sent to multiple congressional offices
Red tape could be seen blocking access to the building on North First Street.
"My San Jose office received a suspicious letter through the mail today. Law enforcement was immediately called. The investigation is ongoing. All of my staffers are safe. I will have more to say after the investigation is complete," Lofgren said in a statement.
According to SJPD, officers retrieved a substance that "has been determined to be non-hazardous," but the investigation remains ongoing. SJPD did not identify what substance was fouond.
Santa Clara
Emergency crews in protected gear are were also spotted responding to Rep. Ro Khanna's office in Santa Clara Friday afternoon.
Santa Clara Police Department did not confirm the nature of the response but said officers were "aware of the situation and it remains an active investigation."
Santa Cruz
An envelope sent to U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta's Santa Cruz office had a white powdery substance inside when a staffer opened it Friday morning, according to the congressman.
Panetta, a Democrat who represents California's 19th Congressional District that covers parts of Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties, said in a statement that the staffer opened the envelope as part of her daily morning routine responding to constituents.
"Upon realizing that there was powder in the envelope, she immediately put the envelope in the garbage can, cleared fellow staff members out of the office, and called 911," Panetta said in a statement.
Panetta confirmed that the powder was sugar and flour, and he said the staff at his office "have been initially cleared by medical officials."
Panetta's Santa Cruz office is located on Ocean Street and is one of his four offices in the district along with ones in Monterey, San Jose and Paso Robles.
He was first elected to Congress in 2016 and is seeking reelection on the Nov. 3 ballot against Republican business owner Peter Coe Verbica.
No information about who might have sent the envelope was immediately available. Panetta in his statement condemned threats to public officials.
"Threats, fearmongering, and violence against public servants have become far too common over the past decade and undermine our democracy," Panetta said. "But these attempts to intimidate us will not deter us from doing our job."
ABC7 Eyewitness News contributed to this report.
Stay with ABC7 Eyewitness News for the latest details on this developing story.
