Journalism of Courage
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Tuesday announced that two men have been arrested in connection with an explosion at Harvard University’s Longwood Medical Campus.
According to the FBI, the two men from Massachusetts were arrested in a joint operation by special agents and officers with the agency’s Boston Joint Terrorism Task Force and Harvard University Police Department.
The suspects have been identified as Logan David Patterson and Dominick Frank Cardoza. Patterson is an 18-year-old from Plymouth, and Cardoza, is a 20-year-old from Bourne. They were arrested Tuesday morning and were due to be arraigned in federal court later in the day.
The two men face charges of conspiracy to damage by means of fire or an explosive.
“Anxiety levels naturally rise when the public learns that an explosion was intentionally caused. I would say those levels may rise even higher in the Boston area,” US Attorney Leah B. Foley said at a news conference, noting that the investigation is ongoing but that there’s no further threat to the university.
According to the charging document, witnesses said the men were visiting Wentworth College for Halloween activities, including parties at area schools.
On the day of the blast, surveillance footage captured the two walking toward Harvard’s medical school.
Witnesses said the pair chose the building because it looked abandoned and got into it via the roof, the charging document states.
Witnesses said the pair lit a roman candle outside of the building and placed a cherry bomb inside of a locker in the building that then exploded, according to the charging document.
“Let me be clear: 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,” said Ted Docks, the FBI’s special agent in charge.
The explosion happened in the early morning hours of Saturday on the fourth floor of Harvard’s Goldenson Building, which is on the university’s medical campus at 220 Longwood Ave.
There was no structural damage to the building in the aftermath, and all labs and equipment remained fully operational.
According to the Harvard University Police Department, two people were spotted fleeing the scene of the explosion. The cops had also released photos of the two suspects, who were wearing facemasks, fleeing the scene.
