An explosion took place at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, on Tuesday, injuring at least one person, according to multiple reports.
The FBI has joined Boston police in the investigation into the incident.
The bomb squad from Boston police also traveled late Tuesday to Huntington Avenue, near the city’s prestigious Museum of Fine Arts, to investigate another suspicious package at the university, reports said.
Boston Police Superintendent Felipe Colon said at a press conference held at 10:30 p.m. local time that the bomb squad had found a second suspicious package that the squad “rendered safe.” He added that the scene is “secure” and the investigation is ongoing, reported the Boston Herald.
Police had arrived near the university’s Holmes Hall around 7:16 p.m., authorities told ABC News. A police bomb squad sealed off part of the campus to investigate a suspicious package. Boston police said they had received reports of a package that exploded when it was opened near Holmes Hall, on Leon St.
Northeastern is a private university in downtown Boston. It asked students who had gathered for an evening journalism class at the hall to evacuate the building. The university said a notification was sent to the Boston campus at 7:55 p.m. urging people to avoid the area, per ABC News. It also said the package was delivered to Holmes Hall at around 7 p.m. local time, reported NBC Boston.
Northeastern University Police said in an alert late Tuesday: “Emergency services responding to an incident at Holmes Hall. Please avoid the area during the investigation.”
The package had “detonated when a staff member opened it,” and the staff member “sustained minor injuries and is being treated,” the university told WCVB. Firefighters and paramedics were at the scene, reported WCVB.
The staff member is 45 years old and suffered “minor” hand injuries that are not life threatening, the Boston Herald reported, citing authorities.
The Boston EMS said in a statement late Tuesday that multiple emergency units had responded to the scene and that “[o]ne patient [was] treated and transported by [Basic Life Support] ambulance to an area hospital.”
Other Boston universities including at Harvard and MIT issued alerts to their students about the detonated package, and asked people to report any suspicious packages.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.