A staff member suffered minor injuries as a suspicious package exploded on the campus of Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, on Tuesday, 13 September, AP reported.
The package was one of two that were reported to the police on Tuesday evening. Both were found near the Museum of Fine Arts, located on the outskirts of the university campus.
One package was neutralised by the bomb squad, while the other exploded while being opened. The former was found near a museum on the outskirts of the university campus, while the latter was near Holmes Hall, home to the university's creative writing program and its women, gender and sexuality studies program.
Police arrived at the campus as students who had gathered for a journalism class at the Holmes Hall were asked by the university to evacuate the building. Even the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was assisting with the investigation, according to NBC Boston.
Michael Davis, chief of Northeastern's police force, told reporters the campus was secure.
Harvard and MIT on Alert
Northeastern is a residential private university in central Boston.
Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which are situated the other side of the Charles River separating Boston from Cambridge, told AP they were increasing patrols as a precautionary measure and urging students and staff to report anything suspicious.
“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," Kevin Hayden, the local District Attorney, told the agency.
Boston was the site of the 2013 marathon bombing that killed three spectators near the finish line and wounded more than 260 others.
(With inputs from AP and NBC Boston)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)