Boston: Package That Exploded at Northeastern University Has Note Mentioning Mark Zuckerberg, Virtual Reality

Authorities are now investigating a package that reportedly exploded at Northeastern University in Boston that had a note mentioning Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and virtual reality.

However, despite receiving a call at around 7:00 p.m. from Holmes Hall about an explosion, the item did not have any gunpowder or explosives in it. The package was a suitcase called a Pelican case. Sources said that such cases were regularly used in the building and would be natural.

Northeastern University Explosion

There was a victim identified as a 45-year-old man who ended up receiving minor injuries to his hands and was later taken to a hospital to be treated. Authorities reported that no student was hurt during the incident and the name of the victim was not revealed.

Within hours of the reports, police became suspicious, first questioning why the victim's injuries did not appear to be from an explosion. The man's statement to law enforcement was riddled with inconsistencies, said sources, as per CBS News.

Authorities found more clues of a possible hoax that came from the note discovered in the case, with the language used suggesting it was written by someone with intimate knowledge of the Immersive Media Lab.

The note was described as a threatening manifesto and was addressed to the manager of the technologies lab. It demanded them to stop working on artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and the "metaverse," specifically mentioning Zuckerberg.

According to CNN, after being closed down due to the reported explosion, Northeastern University reopened on Wednesday, with officials saying the campus is now "secure and open" with beefed-up security.

Suspicious Report

In a joint statement, Northeastern's provost, David Madigan, who is also the senior vice president for academic affairs, and chancellor Kenneth Henderson, said, "Events such as the incident that took place on our Boston campus last night can create or heighten anxiety for many of us."

They added that they wanted to underscore what was communicated to their community last night, saying that multiple law enforcement agencies have determined that the campus is safe and secure.

Northeastern University serves more than 16,000 undergraduate students based on last year's enrollment report. The school is now offering support services such as confidential counseling for students and staff, said officials.

During a news conference, the chief of the university police department, Michael Davis, said that it was very important that they announced that the school was secure. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu praised local enforcement and their response to the incident.

The FBI Boston Division coordinated with the Boston Police Department, said FBI spokesperson Kristen Setera. The agency offered the full resources of the Joint Terrorism Task Force, its evidence response team, and special agent bomb technicians to assist in the investigation of the incident, said assistant special agent in charge Jason Cromartie.

During the alleged detonation, a reporter, Mike Beaudet was teaching a class and though they were evacuated, no one heard an explosion. There were several universities in the vicinity of the incident, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, and Boston University, that sent messages to students notifying them of increased patrols, the New York Times reported.