Ricin found in Georgetown dorm room

WASHINGTON — The substance found early Tuesday in a dorm room at Georgetown University has been confirmed to be ricin.

D.C. police spokesman Araz Alali says that a subject has been identified and interviews are ongoing.

D.C. Fire and EMS and the FBI took additional samples from the room Tuesday. Those swabs did not show signs of harmful agents.

The university got decontamination experts to clean the room where the substance was found. In a statement, Georgetown University Police Chief Jay Gruber says there’s no threat to the Georgetown community.

According to a statement, the D.C. Department of Public Health told the university that anyone exposed to ricin would have had symptoms within 24 hours, but that time period has passed.

It’s still not known how the ricin got into the McCarthy Hall dorm room.

The Washington Post reports a 19-year- old man told police he produced the ricin. No charges have been filed.

WTOP’s Liz Anderson and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Follow @WTOP on Twitter and WTOP on Facebook.

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