by Samuele Petruccelli and Molly Farrar
Two suspicious packages were delivered to a Northeastern University building, and one exploded shortly after 7 p.m. when opened by a staff member who sustained minor hand injuries, according to first responders.
NEU students were notified via email at 7:55 p.m. to avoid the area around 39 Leon St. where the package detonated. The staff member, a 45-year-old male, was transported to an area hospital, officials at a press conference said earlier this evening.
Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox joined FBI officials and NEU police at the Boston Police Department Headquarters and emphasized the fluidity of the investigation. Cox and other officials declined to comment on how or specifically where the package was delivered.
Officials did not say if any arrests have been made.
Felipe Colon, a superintendent with the BPD, said the department is in its “early stages of the investigation.”
“A search revealed the second similar package that was ultimately rendered safe by our bomb squad,” Colon said at the press conference. “I will tell you that the scene is secure and that the investigation is ongoing.”
Deliveries from BU Mail Services are suspended, but direct courier deliveries can still occur, according to an alert from the university. The alert asks the community not to “touch, tamper, or move any suspicious or unknown” packages and report them immediately to the Boston University Police Department.
Mayor Michelle Wu thanked first responders at a press conference and said the city will remain coordinated across all levels of law enforcement and public safety agencies.
“I take very seriously that this city is home to everyone’s young people from our littlest learners up to our college students and university staff,” Wu said. “Our police department and EMS and fire departments are here taking care of all aspects of the investigation and ensuring that everyone throughout this whole community was safe.”
The location is in proximity to the Centennial Common green space and Ruggles MBTA stop. NEU sent an email to students to “avoid the area” near Holmes Hall “during the investigation,” where a writing center and other academic activities are located.
Evening classes at the Behrakis, Shillman, Ryder, Kariotis, Dockser, and West Village F buildings were canceled due to the investigation, according to a University email obtained by The Daily Free Press.
The BPD investigated reports of a suspicious object at the Museum of Fine Arts, which is near NEU, but the object was neither an explosive nor associated with the incident at the university, a police spokesperson said.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
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