The U.S. Postal Service, which is charged with screening mail for safety, failed to detect bullets that were sent with threatening letters to at least two Baltimore judges in the past week. The incidents are another indication that individuals and fringe groups are targeting government agencies and people. There appears to be no technology in place to identify the ammunition sent in the mail. According to a report in the Baltimore Sun, the oversight raises questions about mail security and who is responsible for ensuring recipients’ safety in the wake of five suspicious mailings, some with a powdery substance inside, that were delivered to City Hall and Baltimore Circuit Court on Friday and Monday. The courts say it’s not their job to screen packages, and the postal system says it can do only so much. A joint investigation into the letters, sent to four judges and City Hall, has been launched by Baltimore police and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. There were tense moments at the Mitchell Courthouse in downtown Baltimore Wednesday morning. There, employees found another suspicious package. That package, apparently quite similar to the ones sent to judges there on Monday, contained a bullet and powdery substance. Hazmat teams raced to the second floor of the Baltimore Circuit Courthouse where an employee called 911 after identifying a suspicious package. The US Postal Inspection Service is investigating and the FBI stated that it is not involved in the case.

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