Package explodes on Northeastern campus in Boston, injuring 1; FBI joins investigation

A package exploded on the campus of Northeastern University in Boston late Tuesday, and the college said a staff member suffered minor injuries. Authorities said another suspicious package was found near a prominent art museum; the FBI is assisting with the investigation.

The parcel that blew up was one of two that had been reported to police early in the evening. Boston’s bomb squad was at the scene of the second package near the city’s Museum of Fine Arts, which is on the outskirts of the Northeastern campus.

NBC Boston reported that the package that exploded went off as it was being opened near the university’s Holmes Hall, which is home to the school’s creative writing program. It said the FBI was helping investigators.

Authorities declined to elaborate, but Northeastern spokesperson Shannon Nargi said in a statement that an unidentified university staff member suffered minor injuries in the explosion.

Police converged on the campus shortly before 7:30 p.m. local time, and the university asked students who had gathered for an evening journalism class at the hall to evacuate the building.

WCVB said one of its reporters, Mike Beaudet, was teaching a class at the private university in downtown Boston at the time. Beaudet told the station his class was moved outside but that neither he nor his students heard an explosion.

Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, both on the other side of the Charles River separating Boston from Cambridge, said they were increasing patrols on their campuses as a precaution and urging students and faculty to report anything suspicious.