Ricin, Firearms, Anarchist Textbook, But No Terror Link?

Something very strange going on in Las Vegas.

As police tried to piece together how a rare, deadly poison ended up in a motel for transients, the 57-year-old man who could hold the key lay unconscious in a hospital.

Adding to the mystery, police said firearms and an "anarchist type textbook" were found in the same room where the ricin was discovered two days later.

Capt. Joseph Lombardo said at a news conference late Friday that the book was tabbed at a spot with information about ricin. Police found the firearms and books on Tuesday after a manager at the Extended Stay America motel called police upon discovering weapons, he said, without elaborating.

After authorities seized the book and weapons, tests for ricin were conducted but came back negative, Lombardo said.

Not to impugn the police or FBI, but at what point do you suppose there could be a terror link? And it might be helpful if we knew the identity of the man in question.

Authorities said there was no apparent link to terrorist activity, and no indication of any spread of the deadly substance beyond the vials.

The 57-year-old man was the last to stay in the room, and has been in critical condition since calling an ambulance on Feb. 14 complaining of respiratory distress.

Authorities offered little more about the man's identity: He left pets in the room and was not considered a suspect. A dog was found dead, but the animal had gone at least a week without food or water, Suey said.

"We don't know an awful lot about him," she said. "We don't even know that it was him that was in possession of the ricin." Suey said she could not say how much ricin was in the vials.