LA Times staff evacuated in white powder scare

LOS ANGELES: About a dozen Los Angeles Times employees evacuated the paper's newsroom on Tuesday night after a clerk discovered white powder in an envelope addressed to the publication.

Police responded to the newspaper's downtown Los Angeles offices shortly after 7.30 pm after the powder was discovered, Los Angeles Police Sgt James Willis said.

Willis said a police hazardous materials squad was on the scene to test the powder and the clerk who opened the envelope was taken to a local hospital as a precaution.

Deputy Metro Editor Sue Horton, one of about a dozen Times employees forced to leave their offices, said employees were not shaken by the incident.

She said many employees had to remain in the building in case they had been exposed to a hazardous substance that could be transmitted to others.

“The immediate response was a groan because we figured we wouldn't get out of the building for a while,” Horton said.