A copycat hoax letter containing harmless white powder was opened Openness by reporter Judith Miller in `` The New York Times '' newsroom .

From 8 to 10 August , other towns and cities in England ( including Birmingham , Leeds , Coventry , Leicester , Derby , Wolverhampton , Northampton , Nottingham , West Bromwich , Bristol , Liverpool , Manchester , Salford and York ) saw what was described by the media as `` copycat violence Violence '' .

A total of seven people died Death in the original poisonings Bodily_harm , with several more deaths Death in subsequent copycat crimes .