Human foot mailed to Conservative Party office
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper arrives for a press conference in the foyer of the House of Commons in Ottawa, Canada, on March 25, 2011.
Police are investigating after the Conservative Party of Canada received a human foot in the mail yesterday.
Hours later a second package was found at an Ottawa post office that contained another body part, said to be a severed hand, the Canadian Press reported.
Canada Post delivered the box containing the foot to party headquarters Tuesday morning in Ottawa, the Canadian capital. A front-desk employee stopped opening it when she noticed blood, the Ottawa Citizen reported.
There were few details coming from the party.
“A suspicious package was sent to our office,” spokesman Fed DeLorey said, according to the Citizen.
“The Ottawa police are investigating. All questions should be referred to them,” he said.
Because of the blood, police responded with a hazardous materials unit, the Globe and Mail reported.
Ottawa police announced late Tuesday that they had intercepted a second package that contained another body part, though it was not addressed to the Tory headquarters.
More from GlobalPost: Austrian man saws off foot to keep unemployment benefits
The Conservatives are the nation's ruling party under Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
The package containing the foot wasn't addressed to anyone in particular, just the Conservative Party of Canada. It was packed in a plain white box adorned with the drawing of a red heart, the Globe said.
Although someone in the office reported feeling sick, first-responders determined the foot presented no danger.
“The Hazmat Unit and Emergency Operations section were called and, upon further inspection of the package, it was determined that there was possibly a human foot in the box,” the police said in a news release.
Police x-rayed the box and believe the foot is genuinely human, but will also let a coroner inspect it, CBC News reported.
For now, the major crimes unit is handling the investigation of the foot because now “there’s a body without one,” Ottawa police Staff Sgt. Bruce Pirt told CBC.
More from GlobalPost: World Financial Center evacuated over toy grenade in package
The story you just read is available for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
Make a gift today, and you’ll get us one step closer to our goal of raising $25,000 by June 14. We need your help now more than ever!