Residents return after hazmat evacuation near University of Minnesota
Updated 9:40 p.m. | Posted 5:22 p.m.
Hundreds of residents are being allowed to return to an apartment building near the University of Minnesota hours after it was evacuated because of a suspected hazardous materials incident.
Authorities say the evacuation Tuesday in the Dinkytown area involves an "unconfirmed report of ricin," a deadly toxin. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, ricin is a poison found naturally in castor beans, but it "would take a deliberate act to make ricin and use it to poison people."
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A hazmat team neutralized the area and the one apartment in question is being quarantined and guarded by the Minneapolis Police Department overnight, Minneapolis police spokesperson John Elder said in a statement Tuesday evening. The team secured the substance and transported it to the Minnesota Health Laboratory.
Fire crews arrived shortly after 4 p.m. and evacuated The Marshall, a building that caters to students, and sealed off the area.
An investigation and cleanup continue Tuesday night, Elder said.
A woman took herself to a hospital.