Two men arrested by FBI in Harvard Medical School explosion
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The two suspects were seen on surveillance footage fleeing from the Harvard Medical School's campus at the time of the incident.
PHOTOS: KAYANA SZYMCZAK/NYTIMES, MOLLYLINEFNC/X
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BOSTON – Two Massachusetts men were arrested in connection with an explosion at the Harvard Medical School over the weekend that federal authorities said was caused by a cherry bomb detonated inside a research lab locker.
Logan Patterson, 18, and Dominick Cardoza, 20, were charged on Nov 4 in a criminal complaint.
No one was injured in the blast shortly before 3am on Nov 1 in a hallway on the fourth floor in the Goldenson Building at the medical school’s campus in Boston.
Harvard’s main campus is located in Cambridge.
During a press conference on Nov 4, authorities declined to speculate on a motive, saying it was too early in the investigation.
They said the suspects aren’t Boston-based college students.
Patterson and Cardoza allegedly boasted to their friends about setting off the explosion using a cherry bomb, according to the complaint.
“This explosive device had the potential to cause significant injury to anyone nearby,” Mr Ted Docks, the Federal Bureau of Investigation special agent in charge, said during a press conference in Boston.
“Only by sheer luck and because of a rapid response of first responders, no lives were lost, no one was injured, and property damage was limited.”
The men are each charged with one count of conspiracy to damage by means of an explosive, which carries a sentence of up to five years in prison.
The investigation remains ongoing.
Surveillance video showed two masked individuals lighting what appeared to be Roman candle fireworks before entering the medical school building, according to the complaint.
The suspects allegedly gained access by climbing up scaffolding and entering through the roof, the document showed.
“Thanks to a number of principled individuals who did the right thing and called authorities when they recognised Patterson and Cardoza, investigators were able to quickly piece together surveillance videos, comb through evidence and positively identify them as alleged perpetrators,” Massachusetts US Attorney Leah Foley said.
The explosion did not cause any structural damage to the building, Harvard Medical School Dean George Daley wrote in a Nov 2 email to the school’s students, faculty and researchers.
The Harvard University police department pledged to increase its presence at the medical school’s campus, although it said there was no active threat to the community.
A spokesperson for the Harvard police did not immediately respond to a request for comment. BLOOMBERG
