Three suspicious packages found on campus this week
Three suspicious packages found on campus this week
Feel like MIT’s been popping up on your phone a lot these days? The past week has seen three more reports of suspicious packages around campus — at Kendall Square and buildings 54 and E52 — causing police to issue messages to students through MIT Alert and evacuating buildings. All three alerts were cleared within an hour.
The first alert of a suspicious package came on April 29, when an unattended backpack was spotted near the Chipotle in Kendall Square. Subway service to the Kendall T stop was suspended as the police investigated the package. An alert was sent to the community at 12:42 p.m., and an all clear was issued at 1:14 p.m. The backpack had just been abandoned by a student, who later received his bag in shreds.
Two suspicious packages were reported on May 1, the first near E52 and the second in building 54. The package at E52 was also a backpack — a food worker who was going to change for work left his backpack in the bushes when he went into the building to change. Someone saw him leave it, and reported it to police. He returned to find his bag swarmed by police. The MIT alert was released at 11:41 a.m., and the all clear at 11:59 p.m.
Shortly before 1 p.m. on Wednesday, the second floor of the Green Building was evacuated after a report of a suspicious package in the stairwell; the all clear was given at approximately 1:38 p.m.
There have now been a total of six suspicious packages reported on MIT campus since the Boston Marathon bombings two weeks ago. The first three were reported within the first few days after the bombing.
Students who see anything suspicious are encouraged to call the MIT police at 617-253-1212 or to dial 100 from any campus telephone.
—Jessica J. Pourian