Former federal employee reported to be target in anthrax probe
The FBI has focused its "Amerithrax" investigation on a former U.S. government scientist who has the training needed to conduct last fall's anthrax attacks, the Washington Times reported Monday.
The scientist became the focus of the investigation after more than 300 interviews with people involved in the U.S. anthrax program, according to the newspaper's sources, who included law enforcement authorities and biochemical experts familiar with the investigation. No charges have been filed, they said.
Law enforcement authorities have identified the scientist from about 50 researchers who have the necessary expertise to conduct the attacks, the sources told the Times. They added that the scientist is thought to have worked at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick, Md., and is now a contractor in the Washington area.
The FBI has known for more than three months that the person responsible for the anthrax attacks is a U.S. citizen and probably a former scientist involved with the U.S. biological weapons defense program, the Times sources said. The FBI and the U.S. Postal Service have yet to publicly identify any suspects in the investigation.
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