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Brooklyn Park man allegedly put ricin in wife's drink, prompting hazmat response, warrant reveals

New details revealed in Brooklyn Park hazmat incident
New details revealed in Brooklyn Park hazmat incident 00:29

BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. — A search warrant reveals new details about a domestic violence call that turned into a hazmat response in Brooklyn Park last week.

Officers were first called to a home on the 6400 block of Zealand Avenue North on the night of Dec. 30, 2024, on a report of a verbal domestic dispute between a husband and wife.

The woman who called the police told them her husband was upset with her because she had taken his "medication" from him. She believed he had been putting it in her food and drinks to poison her, according to court documents. She gave officers a drink she believed he had put the substance in for testing. Officers learned the "medication" was ground-up castor beans.

The warrant says the man denied putting any of the powder in his wife's food or drinks. Officers report he did not know what the "medication" was but used it because of his diabetes and high cholesterol.  

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WCCO

Police allowed the husband to keep the powder at the time since they did not know what it contained, according to the warrant.

Tests of the woman's drink showed a presumptive positive result for ricin, which is considered an agent of terrorism and a biological weapon, and the FBI was contacted. That's when officers learned grinding down castor beans is a step in processing ricin.

Because ricin is so toxic, the Department of Homeland Security Chemical Assessment Team was called in to collect the substance and process the rest of the home for toxins.

On Jan. 9, the Brooklyn Park SWAT team executed the search warrant along with the FBI. 

Police arrested the husband, a 54-year-old man, but he has since been released from custody without being charged.


Domestic Violence Resources: For anonymous, confidential help, people can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or 1-800-787-3224.

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