BALTMORE (AP) -- An FBI task force has taken over the investigation of fiery packages that were sent to federal and Maryland government officials.

Rich Wolf, a spokesman for the FBI in Baltimore, says the Maryland Joint Terrorism Task Force is now leading the investigation. The task force includes federal, state and local law enforcement officers.

The packages were addressed to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley and state Transportation Secretary Beverley Swaim-Staley. The packages sent to the Maryland officials emitted a puff of smoke and a small flame when they were opened. They included notes complaining about the state's terrorism tip line.

The package addressed to Napolitano started popping and smoking while at a mail processing center in Washington.

WASHINGTON (WUSA) -- The grainy cellphone video, we found on the blog "Unsuck DC Metro," showed the story in a cacophony of sillouettes.

Metro passenger Allen Haywood told 9 NEWS NOW he was attacked by a group of teenagers on the way home from the gym on Capitol Hill.

"Someone reached out from behind the column and wacked me in the head real hard. And I turned around and just saw what looked like a 12 year old boy just laughing," Hayword told us Friday. "And I said, 'what are you doing?' Except I used different language."

Then, Hayword said, "More people came around from behind and started hitting me in the head -- over and over and over -- just hitting me in the head. And I was just in shock."

He desperately tried to fend off the blows and grasping hands from a number of attackers.