Harvard Student Charged In Bomb Hoax

A Harvard student has been charged in connection with Monday’s bomb threats which shut down four Harvard buildings and canceled finals for many students.

The U.S. Attorney’s office says Eldo Kim, 20, of Cambridge, emailed several bomb threats to offices associated with Harvard University, including the Harvard University Police Department and the Harvard Crimson, the student-run daily newspaper.

Kim will be in US District Court Wednesday.

According to the complaint, two officials of Harvard University, and the president of the Harvard Crimson, received identical anonymous email messages bearing a “subject” line that read “bombs placed around campus.”

The complaint alleges that the bomb threats specified four buildings on the Harvard campus – the Science Center, Sever Hall, Emerson Hall, and Thayer Hall.

In the email, Kim allegedly wrote: “shrapnel bombs placed in science center, sever hall, emerson hall, thayer hall, 2/4. guess correctly. be quick for they will go off soon.”

Kim was scheduled to take a final exam at 9 a.m. in Emerson Hall. According to investigators, when he heard the alarms go off, “he knew his plan had worked.”

The threats drew authorities from the FBI; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the United States Secret Service; the Harvard University Police Department; the Cambridge Police Department; the Boston Police Department; and the Massachusetts State Police.

Authorities found no evidence of bombs in any of Harvard’s buildings.

The maximum penalties under the bomb hoax statute, are five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.

Boston CBS