Fire alarms went off during CNN's 10 a.m. hour of "Newsroom" Wednesday in New York, and the Time Warner Center where the bureau is headquartered was evacuated after a suspicious package was discovered in the mailroom there.
The evacuation followed CNN's reporting that, in addition to the Secret Service's discovery of suspicious packages sent to former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, another suspicious package was intercepted en route to the White House. The Secret Service released a statement later saying the reports of a package sent to the White House were erroneous.
On Monday, an explosive device was discovered at the home of progressive megadonor and philanthropist George Soros.
The FBI said the devices appeared to be rudimentary but functional, meaning they could have done bodily harm.
CNN anchors Jim Sciutto and Poppy Harlow finished speaking with CNN crime and justice reporter Shimon Prokupecz about the apparent explosive devices on Wednesday when the alarms went off shortly after 10 a.m. They continued speaking with law enforcement analyst Tom Fuentes for another minute before Harlow said they were going to find out what was going on with the alarm.
After a break, CNN began broadcasting from its Washington, D.C., bureau, and Harlow and Sciutto spoke from the street outside the New York office. Reporters shared photos and videos of the New York City police department and bomb squad arriving at the building and moving them several blocks away.
Scene outside @CNN now pic.twitter.com/HIaA9Jn61K
— Poppy Harlow (@PoppyHarlowCNN) October 24, 2018
Scene outside CNN NY HQ right now. #NYPD Bomb squad here. @CNNnewsroom pic.twitter.com/avUVaSKDRu
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) October 24, 2018
Police have cleared the street in front of CNN. A dozen police vehicles right now. Pushing us now to clear the block pic.twitter.com/uTzDNIZYZf
— Kate Bolduan (@KateBolduan) October 24, 2018
Pushing us back further pic.twitter.com/fK5bntJ6ao
— Kate Bolduan (@KateBolduan) October 24, 2018
CNN chief Jeff Zucker wrote a letter to employees saying the bureau had been evacuated out of caution, and he told employees they were free to leave the area since their safety was their top priority.
Here’s the note Jeff Zucker sent to all CNN employees pic.twitter.com/luAVbf4lBL
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) October 24, 2018
UPDATE: 11:17 A.M.: This article was updated to show the Secret Service said no suspicious package was sent to the White House.