Four buildings at Harvard University were evacuated this morning after Harvard police received an email claiming that explosive devices had been planted on campus, including in a freshman dorm.
The Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) ordered every person in the university’s Science Center, Thayer, Sever and Emerson Halls buildings to clear out during the investigation. Students and faculty were allowed back into the vicinity mid-afternoon once the HUPD confirmed that no explosives had been found.
“I would like to thank the HUPD and the many representatives of the local, state and federal agencies who responded to this incident,” read Harvard Executive Vice President Katie Lapp’s statement. “We deeply appreciate your help in keeping our campus safe.”
But investigations will continue to uncover the email’s sender and their motive for setting up the bomb threat. Some have speculated that the email sender may have been a student attempting to disrupt the university’s exam period.
Earlier this year, Yale University and MIT were both under lockdown after false reports of gunmen targeting students on campus, making Harvard’s bomb threat the third security hoax this year to take place at an elite private university.