Package Explosion At College May Have Been Staged, Officials Say
By Jason Hall
September 15, 2022
Federal officials are examining whether an incident involving a reported exploding package on the campus of Northeastern University in Boston was staged, law enforcement officials confirmed to the Associated Press on Wednesday (September 15).
Investigators found inconsistencies in the statement provided by an employee who was reported to be injured in the incident because their wounds didn't match ones typically consistent with an explosion, according to one official.
The officials couldn't provide further details regarding the ongoing investigation publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.
Boston Police said a package delivered to Holmes Hall was detonated shortly after being opened by a staff member just after 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday (September 13), WBZ-TV reported.
The victim, identified as a 45-year-old man, was taken to a hospital to be treated for minor injuries to his hands. No students were injured during the incident.
“I did not stage this … No way, shape or form ... they need to catch the guy that did this,” he told the Boston Globe in response to the probing.
Sources with knowledge of the situation told WBZ-TV that the exploding package was inside Pelican case that was pressurized, however, didn't contain gunpowder.
The case also reportedly contained a manifesto in which the person responsible for the bombing railed against virtual reality and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, according to sources.
For those asking.... a "Pelican"-style case would look something like this. pic.twitter.com/6qrfvgsBQp
— David Wade (@davidwade) September 14, 2022
Investigators didn't reveal how the package was delivered to the campus or who it was addressed to.
Holmes Hall was evacuated and night classes in nearby buildings were cancelled Tuesday.
Police found a second similar package during a search, which was "rendered safe" by a bomb squad.
Boston Police are working alongside the Joint Terrorism Task Force to investigate the incident.
#Sources: #Northeastern Staff member injured in minor explosion after opening a pelican case. #JTTF #FBI investigating a rambling, threatening note demanding labs stop working on #AI #VirtualReality & the #Metaverse #WBZ #Boston
— Cheryl Fiandaca (@CherylFiandaca) September 14, 2022
"We advise any folks out there that might see something to say something, and let us know and dial 911," said Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox via WBZ-TV.
The FBI is also offering full support to local authorities in the ongoing investigation into the incident.
"We are fully integrated with our partners and remain committed to resolving the incident safely," said Jason Cromartie, FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge, via WBZ-TV.