FBI Boston’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and the Harvard University Police Department arrested two men from Massachusetts in connection with Saturday’s explosion at the university’s medical school.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Leah Foley announced that 18-year-old Logan David Patterson and 20-year-old Dominick Frank Cardoza were arrested for their alleged involvement in the “intentional” blast at the Ivy League university.
“Thanks to a number of principled individuals who did the right thing and called authorities when they recognized Patterson and Cardoza, investigators were able to quickly piece together surveillance videos, comb through evidence, and positively identify them as alleged perpetrators of the charged crime,” Foley said.
She noted that authorities designated the incident as “isolated” and determined that there was no ongoing threat to the community.
The special agent in charge of the FBI Boston field office, Ted Docks, said no one was injured in the explosion, though the act “could have resulted in casualties” if the building had been occupied at the time.
“Setting off an explosive device inside a locker at an institution geared toward higher education is not some harmless college prank. It’s selfish, it’s short-sighted, and it’s a federal crime. What’s equally disturbing: these two men allegedly boasted about what they did to their friends. We believe these two knew what they were doing was wrong, and they did it anyway,” Docks said.
Docks called the explosion “deliberate and extremely dangerous.”
Foley recounted the scene caught on surveillance cameras at approximately 2:33 a.m. on Nov. 1.
“Surveillance cameras captured two suspects wearing face coverings, walking near the medical school and lighting what appeared to be a Roman Candle firework. Approximately 10 minutes later, the defendants were allegedly seen climbing scaffolding on the side of 220 Longwood Avenue and accessing the roof,” Foley said
Several minutes later, Harvard’s campus police responded to an explosion on the fourth floor of the building, the site of a medical school neurobiology research laboratory, Foley said. She detailed that surveillance cameras also caught the defendants “allegedly exiting the building through a first-floor emergency exit and fleeing the area in opposite directions.”
“Apparently, they were aware that they may have been caught on security footage because they began ditching distinctive items of clothing that they were previously wearing,” Foley said.
TWO SUSPECTS WANTED AFTER ‘INTENTIONAL’ EXPLOSION AT HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL
“Great work @FBIBoston and partners – another win for our Joint Terrorism Task Force getting the job done. More to come,” FBI Director Kash Patel wrote on X.
The authorities said during the Tuesday afternoon press conference that the investigation is ongoing.
