'Thank you' cookies sent to North Carolina elections office prompt emergency response

Posted By: Staff
October 31, 2024 @ 7:23 am
ABC National

In this photo released by the Raleigh Police Department, a thank-you present of pineapple-shaped cookies delivered to the Wake County Board of Elections is shown that prompted a hazmat response on Oct. 29, 2024, after election workers raised concerns about a suspicious package mailed from Hawaii. Image via Raleigh Police Department

( Raleigh, N.C. ) — No good deed goes unpunished for election workers in North Carolina.

A thank-you present of pineapple-shaped cookies delivered to the Wake County Board of Elections prompted a hazmat response on Tuesday after election workers raised concerns about a suspicious package mailed from Hawaii.

“We are just on high alert with these things automatically,” Wake County elections specialist Danner McCulloh told ABC News, who cited recent incidents of suspicious packages containing powder sent to election offices across the country.

The Raleigh Police and Fire Departments quickly responded to the incident — which was treated as a hazmat situation — and bomb technicians X-rayed the package, according to Lt. Jason Borneo of the Raleigh Police Department.

After the package was deemed to not be a threat, officials opened the package to learn it was full of pineapple-shaped cookies from the Honolulu Cookie Company. The package, which was mailed from a Hawaii address, also included a handwritten thank-you note, according to a Raleigh Fire Department spokesperson.

The operations at Wake County Board of Elections were not impacted during the incident, a county spokesperson said. According to McCulloh, a person who heard a radio story about Wake County decided to send the cookies unannounced to thank election workers.

“It was a kind gesture,” McCulloh said, though he recommended against others sending cookies to his office.