The FBI said a suspicious package addressed to Rep. Maxine Waters that was found at a South Los Angeles mail facility Wednesday is similar to packages sent to other critics of President Trump on the East Coast.

Law enforcement sources said the package contained materials capable of exploding under the right circumstances. While officials did not detail the inner workings of the device recovered in South L.A., FBI officials said it was similar to those recovered in New York and elsewhere, which consisted of plastic pipe containing shrapnel and a pyrotechnic material.

On Wednesday evening, the Los Angeles Police Department rendered the package safe and turned it over to the FBI, sources said.

(Los Angeles Times)


Earlier, the LAPD and federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the package, which prompted an evacuation of the postal facility.

Officials deployed a robot to examine the package, said the sources, who requested to remain anonymous.

The LAPD received a call about a suspicious package at 2 p.m. at the Los Angeles central mail facility in the 7000 block of South Central Avenue, authorities said.

“We are working closely with our federal law enforcement partners given the number of suspicious devices discovered across the nation,” the department said in a tweet.


Packages containing makeshift pipe bombs and addressed to high-profile political targets, including President Obama and Hillary Clinton, set off a wave of panic Wednesday.

Waters (D-Los Angeles) also had a suspicious package destined for her Washington office that was intercepted at a Maryland mail facility. Officials are unsure if that package is related to the other cases, but the FBI said it was similar to the one found in Los Angeles.

Times staff writer Hailey Branson-Potts contributed to this report.

richard.winton@latimes.com


UPDATES:

9:25 p.m.: This story was updated with similarities between packages.

7:45 p.m.: This story was updated with authorities saying the package was similar to others found Wednesday.


5:55 p.m.: This story was updated with the time of the call and information from a police tweet.

This story was originally published at 5 p.m.