Charles Rowley and his girlfriend Dawn Sturgess are potential new victims of the nerve agent ‘Novichok’ in the United Kingdom. The two collapsed after visiting Salisbury, the same town where former Russian double-agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were attacked with the chemical weapon back in March.
A witness told The Telegraph the victims were foaming at the mouth, hallucinating and having seizures when there were rushed to the hospital on Saturday. At first, doctors thought contaminated drugs were to blame. But by Monday, officials were concerned enough about the patients’ symptoms that they sent samples to the defense laboratory for testing. Those tests revealed that the couple had been poisoned by Novichok, authorities announced on Wednesday. Novichok is made exclusively by the Russian military.
50 Celebrities Who Have Died In 2018 – Tribute Slideshow
The Skripals have since recovered, but residents of Salisbury fear now that there may be live Novichok in their city. One theory suggested that the victims might have touched contaminated items left behind by the Skripals’ assailant in March. The police have said the attacker most likely applied the Novichok to the handle of Mr. Skripal’s front door.
Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter!
A week of political news in your in-box.
We find the news you need to know, so you don't have to.
“Assume it was the doorknob — the person who put it there would have a coat and gloves they wouldn’t have wanted to leave the country with, and they may have wanted to hide it somewhere,” Richard Guthrie, an independent chemical weapons expert and the editor of CBW Events, told The New York Times.
SLIDESHOW: DONALD TRUMP’S 30 CRAZIEST TWEETS
But unlike the Skripals, Rowley and Sturgess probably weren’t the victims of a targeted attack with the chemical weapon. Deborah Haynes, defense editor for The Times, tweeted on Wednesday that the contamination happened accidentally.
Assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police who oversees counterterrorism operations, Neil Basu, announced on Wednesday, “the Counter Terrorism Policing Network is now leading the investigation into this incident.” About 100 detectives are working on the case, along with members of the local Wiltshire Police, according to the commissioner.
A new ad about Green Party candidate Jill Stein has been released by Vice President Kamala Harris'…
https://youtu.be/inbJpo6D4BQ Jennifer Lopez, campaigning with Kamala Harris on Oct. 31 in Nevada, said Donald Trump’s…
Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn declared that the "gates of hell" would be unleashed if former…
https://youtu.be/JQCdk-71tG0 Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris met with the woman who was the first in…
https://youtu.be/xc72fdqkaVc Vice President Kamala Harris vowed to put “country above party and above self” as…
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon has reportedly been placed on a list of potential attorney general candidates…