The Boston police and the FBI are investigating a suspicious package that reportedly detonated at Northeastern University late Tuesday, injuring at least one unidentified person.
Boston police told Fox News that they were currently investigating a “potential package that had detonated” around 7:16 p.m.
The package had allegedly been delivered to Holmes Hall at Northeastern University and detonated when a staff member opened it, sustaining minor injuries.
“The staff member sustained minor injuries and is being treated,” a university spokesperson told Fox News. “The building has been evacuated and a notification was sent to the Boston campus at 7:55 pm urging people to avoid the area. We will update members of the Northeastern community when more information is available.”
Police and emergency personnel respond the scene of an explosion in Boston, Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022. A package exploded on the campus of Northeastern University and the college said a staff member suffered minor injuries. (WCVB via AP)
The patient has been transferred to a nearby hospital.
Initial reports said two packages detonated, but Boston police did not confirm this.
No confirmation at this time if the incident had any links to terrorism.
Should police discover any such connection, it would mark the first terrorist attack in the city of Boston since the marathon bombing in April 2013.
Northeastern is a private university in downtown Boston with about 16,000 undergraduate students.
WCVB-TV said one of its reporters, Mike Beaudet, was teaching a class there at the time. Beaudet told the station his class was moved outside but that neither he nor his students heard an explosion, AP reports.
Michael Davis, chief of Northeastern’s police force, told reporters the campus was secure. Boston police didn’t say whether any other suspicious packages were found.
“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, promising “a comprehensive investigation to determine exactly what occurred here.”