Identified CBRN agent
Biological
CBRN
CBRN event in United States of America on Thu 16th January 2025
16th January 2025
BROOKLYN PARK, Minnesota (WCCO) -- A search warrant reveals new details about a domestic violence call that turned into a hazmat response in Brooklyn Park last week.
Officers were first called to a home on the 6400 block of Zealand Avenue North on the night of Dec. 30, 2024, on a report of a verbal domestic dispute between a husband and wife.
The woman who called the police told them her husband was upset with her because she had taken his "medication" from him. She believed he had been putting it in her food and drinks to poison her, according to court documents. She gave officers a drink she believed he had put the substance in for testing. Officers learned the "medication" was ground-up castor beans.
The warrant says the man denied putting any of the powder in his wife's food or drinks. Officers report he did not know what the "medication" was but used it because of his diabetes and high cholesterol.
Police allowed the husband to keep the powder at the time since they did not know what it contained, according to the warrant.
Tests of the woman's drink showed a presumptive positive result for ricin, which is considered an agent of terrorism and a biological weapon, and the FBI was contacted. That's when officers learned grinding down castor beans is a step in processing ricin.
Because ricin is so toxic, the Department of Homeland Security Chemical Assessment Team was called in to collect the substance and process the rest of the home for toxins.
On Jan. 9, the Brooklyn Park SWAT team executed the search warrant along with the FBI.
Police arrested the husband, a 54-year-old man, but he has since been released from custody without being charged.
Contextual analysis
Analysing the event count by highlighting the presence of munition categories over a six-month data period.
Understand the complete picture with an Enterprise account.
Learn moreSign in to view this information
Information sources
Discussion and media of this event has been extracted from all sources.
Sign in to view this information
Country information
Click to view more information about the country and see more information on conflicts occuring in that region.
United States of America (USA)
Discover more
Events using similar munitions or platforms and those that happen within a recent time line and proximity are displayed below.
Understand the complete picture with an Enterprise account.
Learn moreSign in to view this information