When asked if there was a threat to the general public at Tuesday night’s presser, police said the investigation was ongoing and that updates would be provided later. Northeastern University police stressed that the campus was secure as investigators work.
“It’s very important to note that our campus is secure and we will maintain a secure campus in perpetuity,” Northeastern University Police Chief Michael Davis said.
The incident has put the community on alert. Other colleges have put out warnings for students to report anything suspicious.
“I take very seriously that this city is home to everyone’s young people…we want to make sure to emphasize that this is of the utmost priority, the safety and wellbeing of all of our young people here,” Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said.
“We’re monitoring the situation at Northeastern and we’re ready to work with the university and our law enforcement partners on any prosecutions that may develop,” Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a statement. “The quick and thorough response by Boston Police and other agencies is the start of a comprehensive investigation to determine exactly what occurred here.”
The note was in a hard plastic container and detonated when the victim opened the latches and lifted the lid, the sources said.
The package was delivered to the university’s virtual reality center and was opened by someone who works in the center, the sources said.
While the employee who opened the package was not seriously hurt, the explosion caused lacerations to his hands and other injuries, the sources added.
Police were called to the scene around 7:18 p.m., Colon said. A Northeastern University police officer responded within a minute of the initial call, said Michael Davis, chief of the university police department.
“It’s very important to note, our campus is secure,” Davis said.
Boston Police’s bomb squad and Boston Emergency Services were at the scene investigating, and the building was evacuated, Nargi said.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu praised law enforcement’s response to the incident.
“We want to make sure to emphasize that this is of the utmost priority, the safety and well-being of all our young people here,” Wu said during the news conference.
The FBI Boston Division coordinated with the Boston Police Department, spokesperson Kristen Setera told CNN.
FBI Boston offered the full resources of the Joint Terrorism Task Force, its evidence response team and special agent bomb technicians to assist in the investigation, according to Jason Cromartie, assistant special agent in charge.
Just before 10 p.m., university police tweeted that the “scene at Homes Hall is currently contained.”
The parcel that blew up was one of two that were reported to police early in the evening. Boston’s bomb squad neutralized a second package near the city’s Museum of Fine Arts, which is on the outskirts of the Northeastern campus.
NBC Boston reported that the package that exploded went off as it was being opened near the university’s Holmes Hall, which is home to the university’s creative writing program and its women’s, gender and sexuality studies program. It said the FBI was assisting the investigation.
Authorities declined to elaborate, but Northeastern spokesperson Shannon Nargi said in a statement that an unidentified university staff member suffered minor injuries to his hand in the explosion. Felipe Colon, a Boston police superintendent, later described the victim as a 45-year-old man.
