Not all unexpected packages are welcome gifts, particularly if they come with lots of extra postage.
Following recent mail bombings at Yale University and the University of California, San Francisco, Department of Public Safety (DPS) Director Leo J. Heatley says his office has received calls from faculty and staff about what they should do if they suspect they have received a mail bomb. However, no one at the U-M has reported receiving a suspicious package.
Both of the bombs that went off recently arrived in padded brown envelopes, similar to those used to send videotapes or books. The bombs were spring-loaded, exploding when the top was removed.
Other similarities, according to Heatley:
Heatley suggests that if faculty or staff receive a suspicious looking package that they put it down and call 911. DPS will investigate using its bomb procedure.
In November 1985, psychology Prof. James V. McConnell received a mail bomb at his Scio Township home. The package was opened by his assistant, Nicklaus Suino, who suffered injuries to his left arm and stomach. McConnell, who died in 1990 at the age of 64, was not injured in the bomb incident. The case was not resolved.
