Breaking News: Two Massachusetts men have been apprehended and charged with federal crimes following an explosion at Harvard Medical School. This incident, which occurred last weekend, has sent shockwaves through the academic community.
On Tuesday, 18-year-old Logan David Patterson from Plymouth and 20-year-old Dominick Frank Cardoza from Bourne were taken into custody. They are now facing serious charges. Both men are scheduled for arraignment in federal court in Boston this afternoon, where they will each answer to one count of conspiracy to damage by means of an explosive.
U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts, Leah Foley, announced the charges during a press conference. She revealed that the suspects allegedly placed a commercial-grade firework, specifically a Roman candle, inside a locker on the fourth floor of the Goldenson Building, located on Longwood Ave. in Boston. The explosion took place early Saturday morning.
Thankfully, no injuries were reported. However, two individuals were observed fleeing the building shortly before 3 a.m.
Following the incident, Harvard police released photos of two masked suspects in an attempt to identify them. According to the prosecution, the media coverage of the event prompted individuals who knew the men to come forward with valuable information.
Prosecutors stated that Patterson and Cardoza were in attendance at Halloween parties at Wentworth Institute of Technology at the time.
The Goldenson Building houses various neuroscience-related facilities, including laboratories dedicated to brain research. This raises the question: what could have motivated such an act in a place of scientific exploration?
According to court documents, surveillance footage captured Patterson and Cardoza climbing over a chain-link fence and entering a construction zone near the building in the moments leading up to the explosion. Investigators say the men then scaled scaffolding to access the roof.
Following the blast, Patterson and Cardoza proceeded to the fifth floor before exiting the facility through an emergency exit on the first floor.
At 2:57 a.m., a surveillance camera near Autumn Street and Longwood Ave. captured Cardoza removing pajama pants and discarding them in a garbage bin.
Patterson was allegedly seen on cameras at the Wentworth campus starting at 3:09 a.m., entering a dormitory, charging his phone near an attendant's desk, and then leaving approximately 30 minutes later to meet up with Cardoza and a third individual.
Ted Docks, the special agent in charge for FBI Boston, stated that the men had bragged about their actions to their friends.
"Let me be clear. Setting off an explosive device inside a locker at an institution geared toward higher education is not some harmless college prank. It's selfish, it's shortsighted, and it's a federal crime," Docks told reporters.
The Goldenson Building reopened for classes on Monday. Increased patrols were implemented on the medical school campus as a precautionary measure. The building's proximity to Boston Children's Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital on Longwood Avenue underscores the potential severity of the situation.
But here's where it gets controversial... If convicted, Patterson and Cardoza could face up to five years in prison. Is this punishment proportionate to the crime, considering no one was hurt?
And this is the part most people miss... The potential disruption to crucial brain research happening in the Goldenson Building.
What are your thoughts? Do you believe the charges are appropriate? Share your opinions in the comments below.
