A 21-year-old college student in Wisconsin is accused of trying to make ricin, prompting the FBI and police to block off a four-block area Friday after finding a white substance, the Associated Press reports.
Authorities became concerned after professors at University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh expressed concerns that the student was making the deadly toxin.
A professor told authorities that the student asked about extracting the toxin from castor beans. When told to ask a biology professor, the student allegedly said, “They are all interested in life and I am interested in, like, ending it,” according to the search warrant.
The substance was sent to the FBI’s lab for analysis.