The
Austin American-Statesman's Whitney L. Becker reports:
Ricin, a potentially deadly poison, was found in a University of Texas dormitory Thursday by a student who reported the substance to school police officers.
The dorm was sanitized, and the substance was sent to a laboratory for testing and came back positive for ricin Friday night. University officials said they had not yet determined where it came from.
A "small amount" of UT students living in Moore-Hill dormitory were exposed to the substance, UT police spokeswoman Rhonda Weldon said.
The students are now at an undisclosed location and are in contact with the FBI. They are not showing any symptoms, officials said. Other students living in Moore-Hill were being moved to Jester dormitory Friday night, Weldon said.
There is no threat to the university suspected, but an investigation is under way, Weldon said.
Update: The
Associated Press is
reporting that the student found the substance in a roll of quarters while doing her laundry.
Update II:
Michelle Malkin,
Jason Smith, and
Gateway Pundit have more.
Update III:
Powder Found at UT May Not be Ricin
Now the
Austin American-Statesman is reporting that another test indicates the substance found at the Universitry of Texas was not ricin.
Reports the
Statesman's Laura Heinauer:
A whitish-brown powder found in a University of Texas dormitory may not be ricin after all, officials said Saturday.
Mike Elliott, senior district commander for Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services, said that although one test returned a positive result for the potentially deadly poison, subsequent tests have been negative.
"I'm pretty confident it's not ricin," Elliott said Saturday.