Traces of deadly toxin ricin were found in a motel room in Las Vegas, about 416 km northeast of Los Angeles, authorities said Friday.
The man who occupied the room recently had developed breathing problems and remained in critical condition at a hospital, according to Las Vegas police.
The deadly substance was found in several vials of powder in a plastic bag Thursday, police said.
But there was no evidence to link the incident with terrorist activities and no indication of any spread of the substance beyond the place where it was found, police said.
"There is no information to lead us to believe that this is the result of any terrorist activity or related to any possible terrorist activity," police Deputy Chief Kathy Suey said.
"We don't have any reason to believe any of it left the property, " she said.
A friend or relative of the sick man found the vials after going to the Extended Stay America motel, several blocks west of the Las Vegas Strip, to retrieve his belongings, Suey said.
But it remained a mystery why and how the ricin was taken to the room.
Tests by homeland security officers, the Nevada National Guard and a laboratory in Las Vegas came back positive for ricin, she said, adding that a cleanup of the motel has been completed.
Seven people, including the man who found the ricin, the manager, two other motel employees and three police officers, were decontaminated at the scene and taken to hospitals for examination, but none has shown any sign of being affected by ricin, Suey said.
Ricin is highly poisonous and a pinprick of ricin is enough to kill.
Source: Xinhua
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