A suspicious package was sent to a New York City address affiliated with Robert De Niro — the latest in a string of such incidents. De Niro is seen here at the Tribeca Film Festival earlier this year.
Evan Agostini/AP
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Evan Agostini/AP
A suspicious package was sent to a New York City address affiliated with Robert De Niro — the latest in a string of such incidents. De Niro is seen here at the Tribeca Film Festival earlier this year.
Evan Agostini/AP
Updated at 8:15 a.m. ET
New York City police say a suspicious package was discovered in the Tribeca area of Manhattan in the early hours of Thursday morning. Officials confirmed the discovery to NPR, saying the matter is under investigation.
The package was found “at the business residence of Robert De Niro,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo tells NPR’s David Greene. The Tribeca Grill, one of De Niro’s restaurants, is at the corner of Greenwich and Franklin.
The New York Police Department says the package was reported around 4 a.m. ET, in the area of Greenwich and Franklin streets in Tribeca. The police bomb squad responded to the scene, and it was “removed from the location,” the NYPD says.
The device in the package found at the De Niro address is similar to one seen in a photo released by law enforcement officials on Wednesday, a source tells NPR.
De Niro is a noted critic of President Trump, making this the latest in a string of suspicious package sent to Democratic leaders or liberal activists this week. Packages were also sent to former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The packages also went to former CIA Director John Brennan (in care of CNN in New York) and former Attorney General Eric Holder. The first package was reported on Monday, at the residence of billionaire activist George Soros.
Cuomo said New Yorkers should go about their business as normal on Thursday. “Don’t let the terrorists win,” he said. “There’s no reason to be afraid.”
The large investigation at the De Niro address caused nearby roads to be blocked until after sunrise Thursday. Shortly before 8 a.m., the NYPD’s 1st Distict announced, “All pedestrian and vehicular freezes have been lifted.”
Law enforcement officials in the city had already been under a heightened alert, increasing police presence after several bombs were intercepted on Wednesday.
Investigators are now working in New York and other cities, in the postal system, and at the federal level, to determine who sent the packages — and why.
The Secret Service said suspicious packages were addressed to Clinton in Westchester County, N.Y., and to Obama’s residence in Washington, D.C.; those packages contained explosive devices that were similar to one that was found on Monday at the home of George Soros — a frequent contributor to Democratic and progressive causes.
An explosive ordnance disposal team destroyed the package sent to Soros through a controlled detonation.
This is a breaking news story. As often happens in situations like these, some information reported earlier may turn out to be inaccurate. We’ll move quickly to correct the record and we’ll only point to the best information we have at the time.
Article source: https://www.npr.org/2018/10/25/660458533/suspicious-package-discovered-in-nycs-tribeca-area?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=news