Late on Tuesday, a package exploded on the Northeastern University campus in Boston, injuring a staff member, according to the university.
Authorities reported that the FBI was helping with the investigation after another suspicious parcel was discovered close to a well-known art gallery.
One of two packages that were reported to police early in the evening included the one that exploded. On the fringes of the Northeastern campus, close to the city’s Museum of Fine Arts, Boston’s bomb squad defused a second device.
According to NBC Boston, the package that exploded occurred as it was being opened close to the university’s Holmes Hall, which houses the women’s, gender, and sexuality studies program and the creative writing program. The FBI was assisting with the investigation.
Authorities opted not to go into further detail, but Northeastern spokesperson Shannon Nargi stated in a statement that an unnamed university staff member who was there at the time of the explosion sustained minor hand injuries. A Boston police superintendent named Felipe Colon later identified the victim as a 45-year-old male.
Just before 7:30 p.m., police arrived on campus, and the university ordered the students gathered in the hall for an evening journalism session to leave.
A private university in the heart of Boston with roughly 16,000 undergraduates is called Northeastern. According to WCVB-TV, one of its reporters, Mike Beaudet, was there at the time instructing a lesson. Although Beaudet’s lesson was moved outside, neither he nor his classmates heard the explosion, Beaudet informed the channel.
According to Northeastern University Police Chief Michael Davis, the campus is safe. No other suspicious parcels were discovered, according to Boston police.
Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden stated, “We’re monitoring the situation at Northeastern and we’re ready to work with the school and our law enforcement partners on any prosecutions that may develop.” He also promised, “a comprehensive investigation to determine exactly what occurred here.”
Both Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which are located on the opposite bank of the Charles River from Cambridge and Boston, said that they were stepping up campus patrols as a precaution and requesting that staff and students report any suspicious activity.
The explosion on Tuesday was one of Boston’s first significant scares since 2013 when two bombs positioned close to the Boston Marathon finish line killed three spectators and injured over 260 more.
