INITIAL ALERTEmail
Verified verbatimHarvard University Police Department Clery Timely Warning, posted to hupd.harvard.edu on November 1, 2025819 chars
At approximately 2:48 AM on November 1, 2025, a Harvard University Police Department officer was dispatched to the Goldenson building at 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, for a fire alarm activation. Upon arrival at the building, the officer observed two unidentified individuals fleeing the building. The officer attempted to stop the individuals before proceeding to the floor where the alarm had been triggered. Upon entering the building, the officer determined that an explosion had occurred in an area on the 4th floor. The Boston Fire Department Arson Unit responded and made an initial assessment that the explosion appeared to be intentional. The Boston Police Department conducted a sweep of the building to check for any additional devices; none were found. No injuries were reported as a result of this incident.
Issued as a Clery Act timely warning under the categorization of an arson or explosive incident on a building receiving federal financial assistance
The Goldenson Building houses Harvard Medical School neurobiology research laboratories — the explosion occurred on the fourth floor outside a lab, in a hallway locker
The decision to release the warning as a written HUPD bulletin rather than a MessageMe SMS reflected that the threat had already been contained by the time the warning was issued; community members were not in active danger
The phrase 'observed two unidentified individuals fleeing the building' became the basis for the FBI and HUPD photographic appeal that led to identifying Patterson and Cardoza within 72 hours