BOSTON (AP) — Federal officials are investigating whether the employee who reported the explosion at Northeastern University may have lied to investigators and engineered the incident, law enforcement officials said Wednesday. said to
Investigators found inconsistencies in the employee’s statements and were skeptical because the employee’s injuries did not match the injuries normally associated with the explosion, one official said.
The official, who could not discuss details of the investigation publicly, spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
A Northeast official said he suffered minor injuries after a hard plastic case exploded on a Boston campus late Tuesday, officials said.
In an interview with The Boston Globe, the employee denied staging the explosion and called the incident “extremely traumatic.”
“I didn’t stage this… no, shape or shape… they need to catch the guy who did this,” he told the newspaper. Did not respond.
Law enforcement officials said the lawsuit included a rambling memo denouncing virtual reality and even referring to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. The official said he did not believe the package was sent through the U.S. Postal Service.
Officials described the incident as a “Pelican-type” incident. Pelican is a company that makes hard cases designed to protect sensitive equipment.
A spokesperson for the FBI office in Boston declined to comment on Wednesday, saying the investigation “remains very active and fluid.”
Northeastern University said in a message posted on its website Wednesday that its campus is safe.
“Events like the incident that took place on our Boston campus last night can cause or heighten anxiety for many of us,” the post, credited to Chancellors David Madigan and Chancellor Kenneth Henderson. said. OUR COMMUNITY LAST NIGHT: Multiple law enforcement agencies have determined that the campus is safe and secure. “
Campus opened as usual on Wednesday for classes and other activities. Students, faculty and staff now have access to counseling and other support services.
Despite the reassurance from school, many students still have concerns.
“Every time I go to class or the cafeteria or anything in general, people are just talking about what’s going on and what happened yesterday.” I am clearly afraid of this situation.”
A package delivered to Holmes Hall exploded when staff opened it shortly after 7 p.m. Tuesday, the university said in a statement. The employee, a 45-year-old man, was taken to hospital with minor injuries to his hands, police said. His name was not made public.
A bomb squad in Boston neutralized a second package near the City Museum of Art near the campus of Northeastern University.
Holmes Hall is home to the university’s Immersive Media Labs, which, according to its website, includes technology for designing, developing, and exploring virtual worlds. It’s also home to the Creative Writing Program and the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program.
Northeastern is a private university in downtown Boston with approximately 16,000 undergraduate students.
The incident is one of the first major horrors in Boston since two bombs planted near the finish line of the Boston Marathon in 2013 killed three spectators and injured more than 260 others.
Associated Press journalist Marc Platt and Boston’s Rodrick Ngowi contributed to this report.
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