Package Explosion at Northeastern University Injures Staff Member, Forces Class Cancellations

The staff member, who was identified as a 45 year old man, sustained minor injuries in the incident

Students walk on the Northeastern University campus in Boston on Jan. 31, 2019. A police bomb squad sealed off part of the campus of Northeastern University late, to examine a pair of suspicious packages, and there were unconfirmed reports of an explosion and minor injuries to at least one person Campus Explosion, Boston, United States - 05 Feb 2020
Photo: Rodrique Ngowi/AP/Shutterstock

A package exploded on the campus of Boston's Northeastern University on Tuesday, authorities said, leaving a staff member with minor injuries.

The incident occurred just after 7 p.m., when the box delivered to Northeastern University's Holmes Hall "detonated" after the staff member opened it, according to an update later provided on the university's website.

Officers from the Boston Police Department responded to the incident at 7:18 p.m., authorities said in a public statement. There, they discovered "a 45-year-old male suffering from minor injuries to his hand."

While the staff member's name has not been released, the university said the employee is being treated at a local hospital and that no students were injured in the explosion.

The package that detonated did not contain any explosives, but was pressurized to cause a detonation when opened, according to local ABC affiliate WCVB, which cited law enforcement sources. Police found an anonymous note that reportedly made warnings about Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

On Wednesday, the Boston Police Department told PEOPLE there were no overnight developments in the investigation and that it did not have further information regarding the incident beyond its Tuesday night press release.

"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 told the Associated Press on Tuesday.

Hayden promised "a comprehensive investigation to determine exactly what occurred here," according to the AP.

Boston, MA, USA. 09-21-2021. Sacred Space building at Northeast University
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Northeastern canceled evening classes in several buildings on its campus Tuesday, a representative for the school said, but expected the school to be open as usual Wednesday.

The FBI is assisting Boston police and other law enforcement agencies in the investigation, WCVB reported. No arrests have been made in the investigation.

Holmes Hall is part of a group of buildings at Northeastern University that contain the school's journalism, communication studies, environmental science, gender and sexuality studies and international affairs departments, according to the school's website.

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Also on Tuesday, a second suspicious package was also discovered across the street from the university near the city's Museum of Fine Arts, the AP reported.

The bomb squad "was able to render the package safe without further incident," authorities said in their statement.

It was determined that the second package was not related to the first, police said, Boston.com reported. Instead, police classified it as an "unrelated discarded object."

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