Hazardous materials crews shut down a residential street in Northeastern New Jersey Friday afternoon after 14 homes were delivered envelopes that contained an unknown white powder, authorities said.
Police said that all of the letters containing the envelopes were sent from an Elizabeth post office to homes on Warren Avenue in Roselle Park. Two other undelivered envelopes were found at the
Crews scrambled to the residential neighborhood after getting calls about the mysterious powder and briefly closed the area down to traffic.
The materials, which were later determined not to be harmful, were being sent to a lab for testing. A spokesman for the FBI's New Jersey office said that the initial tests have shown the materials were not hazardous.
Roselle Park police said the envelopes carried the police department's return address but were not sent by them.
A spokeswoman for the United States Postal Service told NBC 4 New York it is checking on the situation.
The Union County prosecutor's office declined comment. Authorities are investigating to see who mailed the powder.
Local
Jonathan Dienst contributed to this article.
