Footage of the streets of Boston in the aftermath of a detonated explosion.
An explosive device detonated in Boston with at least one civilian wounded
The sole victim of a reported detonation on Northeastern University campus in Boston has denied having any involvement with carrying out the explosion, which is under investigation as possibly being staged, according to a local report.
In an interview with the Boston Globe, the 45-year-old victim, a Northeastern University employee who suffered minor injuries to his hand during the Tuesday night events, rejected the notion that he lied to law enforcement or that he was the person behind the reported detonation.
"I did not stage this, in no way shape or form … They need to catch the guy that did this," he told the Globe. "It’s a very traumatic thing that has occurred so [I’m] shaken up … I’m not doing so good."
The man did not immediately respond to an email from Fox News Digital on Thursday.
Northeastern University confirmed the site of the incident to be Holmes Hall. (Twitter via Ryan Di Corpo)
"I love the college. I’ve worked there for eight years," he said, according to the report. "This is crazy ... I cannot believe people are spreading rumors about this."
Federal law enforcement investigators are probing whether the man, who reportedly works in the university’s virtual reality lab, lied to investigators and staged the incident after identifying inconsistencies in the employee’s statement.
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Investigators also became skeptical because his injuries did not match wounds typically consistent with an explosion, an official told The Associated Press.
In a still photograph taken from video, a Boston Police bomb squad officer motions for members of the media to step away from police vehicles on the campus of Northeastern University, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022, in Boston. (AP Photo/Rodrique Ngowi)
The Northeastern staff member said late Tuesday the hard plastic case exploded on the campus in Boston, causing minor injuries, according to authorities.
The case contained a rambling note that railed against virtual reality and also referenced Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, a law enforcement official said. No explosive materials were found, and they do not believe the package was sent through the U.S. Postal Service, the official said.
A law enforcement source with information related to the investigation told Fox News Digital there were no signs of an explosion at the scene, or to the note, or the pelican case in which the alleged device was being carried. The victim was also seen walking with a case similar to the Pelican container in which the alleged device was held, the source said.
In a still photograph taken from video, a Boston Police bomb squad officer, left, and a K-9 unit officer, right, depart a building on the campus of Northeastern University, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022, in Boston. (AP Photo/Rodrique Ngowi)
A spokesperson for the FBI office in Boston declined to comment Wednesday, saying the investigation was "still very active and fluid."
Boston Police told Fox News Digital Wednesday morning that the case "remains an active and ongoing investigation, and we are unable to provide further information beyond our press release that was issued last night."
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The package was delivered to Holmes Hall detonated just after 7 p.m. Tuesday when a staff member opened it, the university said in a statement. The staff member was taken to the hospital with minor injuries to his hand, police said. No name was made public.
Boston police investigating a package that detonated at Northeastern University. (WFXT)
Boston's bomb squad neutralized a second package near the city's Museum of Fine Arts, which is near Northeastern's campus.
Holmes Hall is home to the university's Immersive Media Labs, which according to its website includes technologies for design, development, and exploration of virtual worlds. It is also home to the creative writing program and the women's gender and sexuality studies program.
Northeastern is a private university in downtown Boston with about 16,000 undergraduate students.
Northeastern University confirmed the site of the incident to be Holmes Hall. (Twitter via Ryan Di Corpo)
An unidentified Boston firefighter who was at the scene on Tuesday told the Globe there were no typical reports of "a loud explosion."
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"And there were kids [still] in the classroom, so they must not have heard it," he told the report. "People did not seem panicked at all … You hear [the word] explosion, you think: big noise and people would be nervous."
Fox News Digital's Bradford Betz and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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