Powder Sent to Newington School Isn't Dangerous

The powder in a letter sent to Anna Reynolds Elementary School in Newington is nothing dangerous, Newington police said on Friday.

The school was evacuated as a precaution on Wednesday when an envelope with a suspicious white powder was found and the school was closed for the rest of the week, police officials said.

The Board of Education will be making arrangements to reopen the school.

Powder has been found at three Connecticut schools since Monday. Federal law enforcement sources said the powder letters arriving at local schools are coming from the Dallas, Texas area and have anti-law-enforcement messages. 

The FBI is investigating at Anna Reynolds, as well as at Island Avenue School in Madison, where a powdery substance was found in mail on Wednesday, and Kennedy Middle School in Enfield, where a powdery substance was found in the mail on Monday.

The principal and a secretary of Anna Reynolds Elementary School in Newington were quarantined on Wednesday because they had been exposed to the substance, officials said.

The state Department of Education has been in contact with the state Department of Public Health and law enforcement officials about the incidents, according to a spokesperson.

"The CDSE is urging school districts to follow their normal protocols regarding suspicious incidents and contact their local law enforcement officials immediately regarding any suspicious incidents in their schools," Mark Linabury said.

There have been several similar incidents in other states, including Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Texas. Tests have determined the powders that arrived there to be harmless.

Results are still pending for some local schools, but none of the letters tested so far have included dangerous chemicals.