Cambridge (US), Dec 16 (IANS) Hours after a bomb scare led to the evacuation of four Harvard University buildings on a day of final exams Monday, police gave an all-clear to open roads in surrounding areas.
Four buildings at Harvard University were evacuated and police bomb-sniffing dogs arrived on the Cambridge campus to investigate “unconfirmed reports” that explosives had been hidden in the buildings, the university said.
The evacuation was triggered by an e-mail that warned explosives had been planted in four buildings at the heart of the Ivy League institution, Boston.com reported citing a law enforcement official.
A couple of hours after the initial reports, authorities reported that no explosive devices had been found in the Sever, Emerson, and Thayer halls, as well as the Science Centre, the news portal said.
But they stressed that the search was still going on by police from at least five different agencies assisted by bomb-sniffing dogs.
“As of the writing of this message the report remains unconfirmed and the HUPD (Harvard University Police Department) has no reason to believe there is a threat to any other site on campus,” Harvard posted on the emergency page on its website.
President Barack Obama was briefed Monday about the events taking place at his alma mater, a White House official said.
Obama attended Harvard Law School, which has its own campus near the Science Centre and the Yard.
College officials said they were working to identify and reschedule exams that were scheduled for Monday morning in the area.
Officials also plan to make an announcement about afternoon exams as soon as possible, a university spokesman told Boston.com in an e-mail.
Police closed streets in the area, then reopened some. Shortly before noon, Cambridge police reported that Oxford Street at Everett Street, Quincy Street at Broadway, Kirkland Street at Quincy, remained closed.
“We are certainly still actively engaged in looking, but we are opening a couple of streets up,” Cambridge Police Deputy Superintendent Steven DeMarco was quoted as saying.
Shortly before noon, University of Massachusetts Boston officials also said they were investigating a phone tip of a person with a firearm on campus, and the campus’s McCormack Building was evacuated, Boston.com said.
Less than a half-hour later, the State Police said in a tweet that the report was false and there was “no threat. False report. Scene is clear.”