Suspected Letter Bomb Sent to President of Germany

Safely detonated

A letter suspected of containing explosive substances was discovered in the office of German President Joachim Gauck on Friday and was safely detonated by bomb control experts.

Federal police discovered the suspicious letter during a routine screening of incoming mail and contacted bomb control experts who then determined the letter should be detonated "in order to avert concrete danger," Steffen Schulze, a spokesman for the president said.

The letter was detonated outside the presidential office, the 18th century Bellevue Palace in Berlin. President Gauck wasn't in the palace at the time, according to his spokesman.