Authorities are investigating a suspicious package found at the Sunrise office of Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz Wednesday, on the same day that suspicious packages were addressed to Hillary Clinton and former President Barack Obama.
Sunrise Police said they responded to the address of the office of the Democratic rep for Florida's 23rd congressional district around 10:30 a.m. and quickly evacuated the building.
Footage showed a Broward Sheriff's Office bomb squad unit and firefighters responding to the building. FBI officials said agents also responded tothe scene as part of the investigation.
At one point, a bomb squad robot was seen approaching the building. An officer in a full bomb suit was also seen walking outside the area of the building.
Officials later said the bomb squad rendered the suspicious package safe and turned it over to the FBI.
The suspicious package had been sent to former Attorney General Eric Holder with a return address belonging to Wasserman Schultz and was sent back to her office, NBC News reported.
Police officials said they also investigated a possible suspicious package at Wasserman Schultz's Aventura office. Multiple officers, a bomb squad and fire rescue crews were seen outside the building with surrounding streets blocked off.
Officials said the package addressed to Wasserman Schultz was checked "out of an abundance of caution" and determined to be safe and not linked to the other suspicious package incidents. The building was evacuated and on lockdown during the investigation.
Wasserman Schultz released a statement later Wednesday, saying she has been in direct contact with the FBI and law enforcement.
"We will not be intimidated by this attempted act of violence. This appalling attack on our democracy must be vigorously prosecuted, and I am deeply disturbed by the way my name was used," her statement read. "Today, my staff and I will hug each other and our loved ones tightly, and tomorrow get back to work serving the people I was elected to represent."
Three senior law enforcement officials told NBC News that the suspicious packages for Clinton and Obama also had a return address belonging to Wasserman Schultz, the former chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee.
The two "potential explosive devices" addressed to Clinton and Obama were intercepted by the U.S. Secret Service. Meanwhile, another suspicious package forced an evacuation of CNN offices at the Time Warner Center in New York Wednesday morning, and a suspicious letter sent to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was found to be an unrelated hoax, investigators said.
On Monday, an apparent explosive device was found in the mailbox of George Soros.
"This investigation is of the highest priority for the FBI. We have committed the full strength of the FBI’s resources and, together with our partners on our Joint Terrorism Task Forces, we will continue to work to identify and arrest whoever is responsible for sending these packages," FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement. "We ask anyone who may have information to contact the FBI. Do not hesitate to call; no piece of information is too small to help us in this investigation."
